Recently I have been working with natural pigments, bog peat/ash and experimenting with making my own inks (walnut and Oak). I have spent the week here at Annaghmakerrig mixing inks with materials such as peat from the Irish Bogland and exploring new ways of mark making. Using the natural reaction of the bog water with the inks along with the peat dust I then laid down maps over the abstract images. I have been mixing the mark making of Nimmo’s maps. Alexander Nimmo was the first person commissioned to map the bogland area of the Iveragh peninusla in Kerry, Ireland. The uncontrolled reactions of the inks created by the bog water and the sealing of the pigments and peat dust with gum arabic and egg tempera to create random abstract and unusual reticulations over a long drying process make for interesting areas to develop in the work.
