ABOVE: A new batch of bark going into the pot for boiling. This time I deliberately selected bark that had a lot of resin in it, in the hopes that this might make a more viscous ink. The house is warm and foggy with all this distilling and the aroma is of a gentle eucalyptus forest, it is quite lovely.

ABOVE: a shallow pan with the three-day ink being further reduced. Here's hoping it will thicken up a bit today!
​Last night I filtered the ink through muslin and let it to settle overnight, and this morning have strained the liquid off the top and am reducing it further in the hopes of a very thick ink for lino cut prints.

Last night I filtered the ink through muslin to remove any residue and let it settle overnight, pouring off the liquid from the top this morning and reducing it further in a pan. I'm really hoping for a very thick and viscous ink that can be used for lino cuts, so although I'm loving the quality of the ink, it is too watery.

Another thing I'm trying this morning is a new batch of bark, this time with a much higher resin content. I'm hoping that the resinous bark might create a more viscous ink.

Today I tried out the ink, first without iron mordant and then again with iron mordant. What a stark contrast and a pleasant surprise! The iron mordant makes it very dark and strong, and without it, the ink is a pleasant reddish-brown colour. I love both, but am really trying to get a very viscous, sticky ink that can be used for lino-cuts, and this is far too liquid. I'll let it stand for a while and try and reduce it further to see if it will thicken.

Today we walked out to the end of Hardy Rd, Glen Forest, in search of Marri bark to make black ink. This spot was new to me, and as the crow flies, near to my house. There are some beautiful big boulders and creeks running through paddocks that are being rehabilitated with some small trees, and plenty of big gums that gave us a big sack of bark.

ABOVE: Guy and Vahri take a tea break.

MEETING AT MJAC

Today Vahri and I met Kathleen and Jess at MJAC to talk about install and marketing requirements, I had a chance to see the venue again and start to think about the wallpaper and how I am going to display the Ripairian artefacts.

There is a small room that leads into the theatre which lead into the theatre, we are hoping that our audience will be able to walk into the theatre through this room, under the seating and pop out into the theatre. That's TBC at the moment!

After that I scouted for materials and found what I needed at Jacksons, this is a back up plan in case the botanical inks don't work out. I'm going to need to think about the way we glue the wallpaper to the wall of the gallery, and also to the embankments where there is graffiti. It is a hugely challenging prospect and I admit to feeling more than a little nervous about it.

We covered a lot of ground today, ran through a rehearsal for the eco-dye yoga performance and also practiced some theatre moves with the group. I'm loving seeing the river swell with water, although was disappointed that a lot of the really good graff has been buffed over with grey acrylic paint. I'm hoping there is not going to be some kind of concerted cleanup act by the council, the graff is so much better looking than the dead, grey buffed walls, and this method only seems to invite the less ambitious, scraggly-looking tags.