01 . 23

buckthorn pinke : january ’23

This month’s pigment, Buckthorn Pinke, is presented to you with an invitation to explore it in two different forms: as an ink and as a lake pigment. The packet contains two ‘clothlets,’ a vehicle for ink transport used by medieval monks, wherein a small cloth is saturated in a concentrated ink and dried. The packet also contains two white powders: alum & soda ash, both of which come from large mines. Alum is sometimes used to make pickles, and soda ash is a form of baking soda. The powders can be used to transform the dark brown of the buckthorn ink clothlets into a bright, luminous lemon yellow.

The Buckthorn ink is made with Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), which was introduced to this large continent in the 1800s. These days the plant is disliked by humans because it spreads rapidly and crowds out botanical biodiversity. Its berries cause diarrhea in humans and birds, so it’s considered ‘mildly poisonous’ (do not eat! ). Tilke picked these berries on the side of a dirt road in Vermont where Tilke learned to ride a bike as a kid.

Buckthorn berries (Rhamnus saxatilis) were used historically in Europe to make a yellow color, also known as ‘still de grain yellow’ or ‘dutch pinke,’ at a time when the term ‘pinke’ referred to its method of manufacture and not its color (there were brown, yellow and pink pinkes). The berries themselves contain an array of hidden colors which respond to changes in ph. The berry juice in these clothlets started out deep purple, then turned dark green, then warm russet, and, when laked, will be yellow.

contributor: Tilke Elkins

Tilke Elkins is an artist, writer, educator and curator focused on site-specific/site-responsive painting art. Tilke has worked with mineral and botanical pigments since 2007, and is the founding director of Wild Pigment Project. Established in 2019, Wild Pigment Project has been instrumental in bringing together the global pigment community by providing an ever-growing directory of international artists and educators, and facilitating networking and collaborations worldwide. Tilke teaches regular workshops and has lectured, led discussions, and taught workshops at the University of Oregon, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland Community College, Lewis and Clark College. She offers online and in-person courses, mentorships, and private consultation to support artists and organizations seeking to integrate wild pigments into studio practice and programming. www.tilkeelkins.com