07 . 23

fog of war : july ’23

‘Fog of War’ is a kit for making gallo-tannic ink, a special, collaborative pigment with distinct components: powdered oak galls, stone-fruit gum (mixed with some gum arabic), and iron sulphate. The oak galls were gathered this spring by artist / Wild Pigment Project founding director Tilke Elkins. Many were found on the ground, the gall wasp larvae who formed them long departed the summer before. The stone fruit was gathered from a peach tree in textile artist Deborah Gorr’s back yard, and the quantity was not quite enough, so has been mixed with a bit of commercial food-grade gum arabic (sourced most likely from acacia trees in Kenya!), purchased at a health food store.

The iron sulphate comes from now four-time Ground Bright contributor, Thomas Little. Thomas produced the iron sulphate by dissolving Russian bayonets and WWII era Smith and Wesson revolvers in sulphuric acid, resulting in a pale bluish powder that catalyzes the gallo-tannic alchemy. 

contributor: Thomas Little

Thomas is an amateur ink historian who explores mystic and scientific concepts through the lens of ink and our relationship to mark-making.  He gathers threads from alchemical imagery, chemical phenomena, and mystic observations, and incorporates them into a holistic synthesis theory of art-science-magic.  The natural world informs his work with ink in not only the materials used, but the relationships expressed between plant, animal, and elements.  He has formulated inks for people using some herbal requests and symbolic iron objects.  He is currently developing a primary palette with iron pigments derived from gun parts, and collaborating with a slime mold, Physarum polycephalum.  He has lived many places, but always dwells near dark water, and is in the process of putting together a mobile ink lab. He can be reached at thomas.little.films@gmail.com.

contributor: Debora Gorr

Deb Gorr is a fiber and dye artist who experiments with many different plants — in her garden in the Pacific Northwest and beyond — and nurtures people, plants, and cats. Read about her current pigment adventures at https://beecreative.typepad.com.