Making and Drawing with Natural Inks

What to expect

This is a five day workshop run by artist Amanda Thesiger in which you will learn to make inks from natural materials and then use them for a range of landscape drawing experiments. After the success and buzz around Amanda Thesiger's Natural Ink Weekends, we are delighted that she has agreed to come for five days this summer to make the most of the location and allow participants more time to experiment with and use their newly made inks in the landscape. At the start of the week you will learn some of the processes of ink-making, from preparation, to extracting colour, to preserving your inks and ways of working with them, discovering along the way the historical/cultural significance of some of the ingredients. Using a wide range of tactile natural materials such as plants, galls, earth pigments, berries, and minerals, and their hidden colour potential, you will equip yourself with an exciting palette of varied inks for the days ahead. As the week progresses you will be able to explore the landscape outside the studio, discovering the magical qualities of your inks. You will find that they are excellent for expressing tonal range and can be applied with all kinds of implements, including sticks, brushes and feathers. All sketches will be made using a range of line and wash and you will explore lots of different mark-making methods, from traditional hatching through to more spontaneous mark-making with washes, cursive strokes, dashes, dotted areas, putting tonal energy into your landscape or still life scenes. If the weather isn’t always suitable for outdoor working, you will be able to work indoors, making some quick sketches as warmups, focusing on still life with found objects foraged from the immediate area, as well as a collection of natural treasures that Amanda will bring. What to Bring: Sketchbook (paper will be provided), watercolour brushes, some light-toned pastel sticks or coloured pencil, e.g. greys ochres, creams, pale greens etc. Fixative. To find out more about Amanda look on our tutors page and check out her website.