Japanese Indigo Ink

Working through the amazing ‘Colour is Alive’ text by Greta Facchinato, I was drawn to the process for Japanese Indigo Ink. The book has recipes and instructions for colors that can be applied to Paper and Fabric, and this ink is listed as suitable for both applications. To respect Greta’s work, I won’t post the recipe here but it is on page 56 of her book and I highly recommend purchasing a copy before they are sold out.

This process was very different from the previous Avocado Ink that I made (page 76). The Avocado Ink was made using the pits of the avocado to create a decoction that is modified and thickened. Working with Indigo pigment is a different process that involves using a motor and postal, a muller and glass plate, and a little more elbow grease.

I worked through the recipe and had a few hurtles. I added my thickeners at the same time and in its whole amount. It wasn’t clear in the book to gradually add the material, but when reviewing a video lesson from Greta it became clear that I should have paced it. This may have added a bit of extra time working the ink. It was thick and not smooth for quite some time, but after a bit of stubborn determination I ended up with an ink that looked similar to the quality of the avocado ink. I ended up with about 50ml of water that was not incorporated. I spent some time thinking about whether or not I should add it, and decided to let the ink sit overnight before deciding. I found that the inks will thicken, so the quality the day after is the best indicator or where the ink is.

The following day, the ink looked workable to I pulled a few prints onto a scoured linen (no tannins or mordants). Looking at the transfer, I ended up with really strong bold color, but perhaps a little thicker of an ink then I would like. It still pulled, and dried beautifully. The prints the following day looked in tact, no flaking, and I was pleased. I decided to pull another batch of small circle prints to use as test samples for washing and colorfastness.

Next time I make this ink I'll will make sure to work the thickeners slowly over time, and I will incorporate the fill amount of water to see how the thickness compares. Always room for experimentation and improvements!