Off on (never ending...) the hunt for pigments

Now that I had a better handle on making everything stay on the canvas and how to mount the drawings (framing them still continues to be a challenge to me though) I needed to gather more pigments.

I gathered herb, tree and flower books that I had been collecting for years and that I inherited from my Dad and began browsing.

- Magic and Medicine of Plants, Reader' Digest Book
- The Complete Book of Herbs, by Lesley
- Wildflowers, Pertson Field Guide
- The Sibley Guide To Trees, by David Allen Sibley
- Hammond's Nature Atlas of America, by E.L.Jordan, PhD
- A Field Guide to Wildflowers, by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKennt
- Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing, by Rita J. Adrosko

I also searched the Internet and came up with some resources there too of course.

My daughter Sarah gave me a very interesting book too that brought certain amount of historical perspective to my journey too.

- Color, by Victoria Finlay

I was always picking up a plant or a stone and trying it out. Mostly on my jeans or t-shirt to see what color it might make and if it would last.

I put rusty iron into jars with water so they would rust even more.

I wanted to gather the pigments that were at hand so I stayed away from bought spices and such. But it was and still is tempting. Though I must confess that some drawings do have the color of Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea on them.
 
Charcoal was probably the first color (no, let's not debate whether it is a color or not) and is for me as well. It usually can be found wherever you are. From a wood stove to beach charcoal. I now have a collection on it from beaches on the Atlantic and the Pacific and from campgrounds and backyards.

My "Eureka" moment was when I rediscovered the Pokeberry on a walk with Joey and my granddaughter Abby. Fitting because the first time I discovered it my daughter and I made a dye that we used to tie dye our t-shirts with. She was about four.

Pokeberries became the main pigment in a series of drawings inspired by a Mark Knofpler's song.

On the edge of the field, On the edge of the world, Before gas and TV

Before Gas and TV

Before gas and TV
Before people had cars
We'd sit 'round the fires
Pass around our guitars

Remembering songs
When my daddy was home
He'd play along
On the spoons and a comb

We'd go with the flow
When the weather was fine
Sometimes we'd go
Collecting scrap iron

And we'd sit 'round the fires
Pass a bottle of wine
In the tales of the road
Since time out of mind

If heaven's like this
Well, that's okay with me
Where the living is fine
And living is free

If heaven's like this
Well, then here's where I'll be
On the edge of the field
On the edge of the world
Before gas and TV

Something I discovered as well about Pokeberry dye is that they provide a boost for solar cells!

"...Researchers at Wake Forest University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials in North Carolina have discovered that red dye from the pokeberry weed makes their low-cost, fiber-based solar cells even more energy efficient. The center’s director David Carroll says the solar cells, which have been patented under the company FiberCell, Inc., can create twice the power existing solar flat cells produce. The cells have more surface area and can trap light at any angle, meaning they can take advantage of the sun from dawn to dusk. Cue the berries. When the dye is spread over these cells, it acts as a light absorber, boosting the technology’s efficiency by about 7 percent. The dye helps the cell’s fibers capture more sunlight to convert into power..." Read more here...

I will try to note what pigments and materials I used in each drawing I show on this blog (if I can remember). And post interesting discoveries like the one above about Pokeberry dye.

The journey has begun...