The Magic of Foraging Season — Samantha Sanders

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love change. I love when the crickets’ nightly trill begins at the end of August. I love when leaves turn from green to bright yellows and rustit reds. I love that nature encourages its last flowers to bloom, my favorite being the tall and magnificent purple aster. What I love most about Fall these days is that it is time to forage, for nuts and flowers to grow my ink collection. In September, goldenrod flowers bloom in fields and along roadways. Their lush, yellow flowers make for a great yellow ink. Hickory trees and walnut trees start dropping their nuts. I compete with squirrels while collecting them, starting in October and through to the end of November. Hickory nuts make an excellent light brown ink. Black walnuts make a rich, deep brown ink. If you add a mordant like iron to your hickory nut ink or black walnut ink you get a darker pigment. Black walnut ink with iron in it can turn the ink black. I’ve had all kinds of ink color variations in my studio these past three years, as I’ve foraged and made inks from various flowers, nuts and berries. I’ve had many failures and many successes. Those successes can be found in all of my works on paper pieces.

I’ve been making inks now for three falls. I started my ink making and foraging journey in Fall 2019. I first collected goldenrod flowers in Wissahickon Valley Park and made a small batch of ink out of them. I’ve held onto a small vial of that goldenrod ink. It’s a deep yellow ink that I use sparingly. It’s a physical representation of a new beginning for me. Each ink I make represents the place it is from. It’s both a tool and memento. The pigment is a vessel for a memory. I forage for plant matter in the city and outside of the city. You can find ink worthy plants everywhere. Foraging and inkmaking is a magical process and an intimate, personal process, that I love sharing with others. My connection to nature has grown deeper these last three years. Making my own paint is empowering. It also is cost effective. Each ink is not like the other, making my painting practice feel just a little more special. For example, the black walnuts I collect from my parents house make a rich, warm brown. Black walnuts I’ve gathered from other areas (Northern PA and Virginia) have been different shades of brown, some cool, some ashy, some lighter and some darker. The below images are from recent 2021 foraging trips.