I often make artworks based on my time spent in a particular place in nature and I have always been keen to create these sketches using the natural resources around me. I recently created a piece based on my time spent in a cherry wood. How wonderful it would have been to use cherry ink or a paint created from the rock beneath my feet.
Well, this weekend I was fortunate to spend time with natural pigment artist Susannah Crook who taught me how to make charcoal from willow sticks, inks from bracken, acorn caps, blackberries and sloes and how to create paint from local rocks.
We also fashioned mark making tools and brushes from all manner of seed heads, lichen, sheep's wool, grasses and the like. It was great fun experimenting with these natural materials and investigating how they might be used. My time with Susannah has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities and I'm now officially obsessed with collecting all kinds of natural bits and bobs to see what colours I can create!
