Natural Forsythia Ink

Happy solstice! As I experiment with making natural ink and lake pigments out of spring blossoms, I thought I’d share my recipe for forsythia ink.

People have been making natural ink all over the world for many years, and it’s so interesting to learn about the practice of ink and paint making for art, writing, and recording. I’ve been working with botanical dyes and inks since early 2019 and It’s such a beautiful, slow process. I use these pigments in my personal craft and art practices.

I stumbled upon a huge forsythia bush in the early spring and collected some of the yellow blossoms. Below is an easy recipe to make your own ink with the forsythia flowers!

IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

All tools used in your ink making practices should never be used for food preparation ever again!

Please work in a well ventilated area.

Enjoy the process - you may not nail it the first time and that’s okay!

RECIPE

Supplies:

Around 1 cup of dried forsythia flowers

A small pot

Stirring utensil (like a wooden spoon)

1 tsp of alum

Fine mesh strainer

Glass bottle with lid

Liquid gum arabic

Rubbing alcohol

Method:

Add your forsythia flowers, and around two cups of water (enough to just cover) to your pot.

Bring your water to a boil and immediately turn down to a gentle simmer for a while. Add the alum and stir. Cook until the liquid has reduced to about half and is yellow.

Test the ink on watercolour paper as you go. If you’d like darker ink add more flowers and alum (and water as needed)

Strain your ink through your strainer into a jar and then transfer into a bottle.

Add around 10-15 drops of liquid gum arabic and shake well.

Add 3-5 drops of rubbing alcohol (or a whole clove) to preserve.

Keep in your fridge (do not consume!!) Enjoy!

A little painting of yellow flowers using forsythia ink.