Ink making training by Colleen

Incredibly talented artist, Colleen, has been sharing her knowledge of ancient ink making methods… Iron Gall Ink.
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Nature is so amazing! Gall wasps lay a single egg on a leaf bud. The larvae secretion changes the chemistry where a protective gall nut is formed around the larvae instead of a leaf. When it’s ready, the wasp will burrow it’s way out of the nut, leaving a little hole (swipe to see an example).
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We’re surrounded by lots of oaks and collect little galls (with holes in them) that we’ve found on the forest path.
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These galls contain a lot of tannin, and have been used to make ink since the Roman Empire, and from the middle ages until the twentieth century.