Home Forums Explore Media Pen and Ink Homemade pokeweed berry ink

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  • #988791
    Bluegill
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        This past weekend I tried my hand at making pokeberry ink. This is made from the ripe berries of the pokeweed plant.

        I first heard of pokeweed ink when I was researching walnut ink, which I’ve also made. I didn’t know what pokeweed was, however. After a little more research, I realized that pokeweed was something I’d been seeing all my life in every patch of weeds I’ve ever looked at, but I just didn’t know what it was called. It’s very common, at least around here, and very easy to spot; it can be quite tall, with large leaves, distinctive magenta stems, and lots and lots of berries.

        Anyway, I had one growing in my backyard, so I let it mature, and on Saturday I made some ink. My daughters were enthusiastic helpers.

        After making sure they understood that the berries were toxic and would make them very, very sick if they at them, and after making sure they had on play clothes (my wife later garbed them in trash bags with holes for the arms and head cut out), we got to work.

        First, we put all the berries in a large bowl.

        Hands were stained by the berries, and berries that fell into the grass stained our feet.

        Then we squished and strained them through a wide-hole colander. The color on my hands, in the full sunlight, was dazzling. After that, I poured it through a sieve into jars.

        After that, I used a dip-pen and a brush to do some messing around.

        On the plus side, this ink is really, really easy to make. One large plant gave me two jelly jars full of ink; the color is a vivid magenta; and it flows off the pen wonderfully!

        One the minus side, the color is said to turn to brown—I don’t know how long it will take, but probably not too long. Even worse, it’s not lightfast; even the brown will fade, I think, so you’d need to keep it under UV glass or out of the light.

        According to legend, the Declaration of Independence was signed with this ink (which I suppose could be a reason why it’s faded to illegibility and kept in a dark room under thick glass). It was also commonly used by soldiers during the American Civil War to write letters home, and American Indians painted their horses with the dye.

        On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
        http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
        http://www.marktablerart.com/

        #1142977
        Bluegill
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            On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
            http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
            http://www.marktablerart.com/

            #1142989
            CerraAngel
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                It looks like all of you had a lot of fun.

                #1142985
                Ranger Dan
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                    fun! so how was clean up? are your hands and feet still magenta? I wonder if there is an agent you could add to help prevent fading…

                    Ranger Dan Gronseth:wave:

                    #1142978
                    Bluegill
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                        It actually cleaned up very easily, unlike walnut ink.

                        I think the only way to keep it from fading is to keep it away from UV radiation.

                        On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
                        http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
                        http://www.marktablerart.com/

                        #1142983
                        #1142979
                        Bluegill
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                            ah – the Declaration was sign in iron gall ink…

                            Hm, just goes to show that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet! Wait, you’re on the Internet…:D

                            On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
                            http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
                            http://www.marktablerart.com/

                            #1142988
                            RiJoRi
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                                “According to legend, American Indians painted their horses with the dye.”

                                I’ve never seen a purple horse
                                I hope I’ll never see one.
                                But I will tell you now, of course
                                I’d rather see than be one.

                                With apologies to Whats’IsName

                                –Rich

                                So many colors, so little time...

                                #1142987
                                virgo68
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                                    Fascinating! What a beautiful colour – it is really a shame it turns brown. Maybe you could do a series of experiments and see how long it takes to turn brown, leave something out in the light and see how long till it fades etc. Wonderif you spray with some sort of uv matte fixative if that would save it? I did that once with a laser copy I made and left it in the window for 12 months and it faded only a tiny bit from the original I left in a folder in the cupboard. Just an idea if you do hit on a drawing you would like to keep.

                                    How long did it take for your hands and feet to go back to “normal”?!

                                    :eek: [FONT=Palatino Linotype]Jackie

                                    #1142980
                                    Bluegill
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                                        It only took a few minutes to wash it all off, fortunatey (a month ago, I sliced open a raw walnut, and the juice stained my hand a beautiful brown for two weeks.)

                                        Regarding the Declaration of Independence, I’ve seen that information all over the Web, but the National Archives conservators make reference to it being iron gall ink, making this (to me) perfect example of lots of wrong info being repeated on the Internet. Of course I’d trust the National Archives experts over ten thousand other sources. So thanks, Robert!

                                        On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
                                        http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
                                        http://www.marktablerart.com/

                                        #1142976
                                        Studio-1-F
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                                            Mark, excellent pictures! Thanks for posting them. (Your girls are adorable!)

                                            Other than walnut and pokewood, have you tried making ink from any other substances? Making ink is pretty interesting.

                                            What’s an “iron gall”? Is it a tree growth?

                                            Jan

                                            #1142984
                                            #1142986
                                            llawrence
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                                                Sweet! I’ve made walnut ink too, but not pokeweed. I wish we had pokeweed in our area, but that will never be. Looks like it came out great.

                                                I seem to recall reading one source that said fermenting the pokeweed juice will make for a more permanent ink, though not as bright a color. I can’t remember if that was about lightfastness or indelibility – probably the latter.

                                                Non-lightfast inks are appropriate for book arts in my opinion. Thanks for posting, cool stuff…

                                                #1142981
                                                Bluegill
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                                                    I just thought I should post this update, for anyone interested:

                                                    The doodles I did in my sketchbook when I first made the ink, which you can see in the first post, show noticeable browning and fading. This despite being enclosed in a sketchbook and rarely looked at. So, it will fade even with minimal light exposure! Probably not a good idea to use them even in a sketchbook, except for experiments. Unless you’re into art that expresses the ephemerality of our existence…

                                                    On Instagram and Facebook as Marktablerart
                                                    http://marktablerart.blogspot.com/
                                                    http://www.marktablerart.com/

                                                    #1142990
                                                    MNClem
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                                                        A technical failure, but an human success! The fun you had with your family is priceless!
                                                        I thnik that something like this should be done in the schools to let the children understand how primitives became painters and the art began his history

                                                        Really a beginner... :wave:

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