Foraging Oak Galls and Making Ink

Welcome back to the studio as I learn how to make Oak Gall Ink!

For this video, I experimented with both a steel wool/vinegar solution and traditional Ferrous Sulfate (known historically as Copperas) to see how the results would differ. The steel wool/vinegar solution had a greeny-brown undertone compared to the blue-grey ferrous sulfate ink. When swatched alongside the raw oak gall ink with no additives they created a beautiful selection of colours that were very fun to play with! The ink with the ferrous sulfate produced the nicest result for writing with a dip-pen, alongside the raw oak gall ink which has a beautiful ochre tone.

When exposed to air for a few hours, the ferrous sulfate ink darkens to a deep grey tone which is very beautiful, however to get a richer black tone, less water could be used for a more concentrated result.

All in all, this was a very fun and interesting project to undertake and I hope you are inspired to go forth and forage for your own inks!

If you would like to learn how to forage and make inks, there are a lot of wonderful recipes to be found online, or grab a copy of Make Ink: A Forager's Guide to Natural Inkmaking by Jason Logan which is a fascinating read :-)

Wishing you a relaxing day ahead,

Katie x

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