Melinda Ostraff.  Natural Ink

2020-2021. Natural Ink. 28X36 cm.

I use my botanical and scientific background to create natural handmade inks from foraged natural materials. A variety of hues can be achieved through these processes—from subtle earthy tones to brilliant colors. Beige-colored avocado pits produce pink. The purple-colored leaves of red cabbage make a magenta ink but oxidize on paper into blue-grey. Often unexpected effects can occur from simply changing Ph levels. ☐ We are surrounded by a myriad of systems that make up what we call nature. Our language seems to separate us from the fact that we are inseparably part of this phenomenon. I see the irony in our seeming denial of our true inheritance. ☐ I play with natural materials to make inks that are in turn used to create forms that reference the biological world I see is just an acknowledgment that I was never anything but a part of a larger whole.