Numerous ancient cultures worldwide independently formulated their own version of inks, enabling them to write and draw more easily. Up to the time of the appearance of ink, wet clay tablets were used to write into and then fired...vast libraries of such tablets were produced in ancient Mesopotamia. In prehistoric times complex symbols and designs were carved into monuments, such as those at Newgrange in Ireland. The Celtic tree alphabet, known as Ogham, was carved into standing stones in Western Britain. Tableaux of events and characters were carved onto the walls, alongside monuments celebrating powerful rulers of ancient realms.
The arrival of ink brought about vast changes, as this humble material democratised communication which became speedier and transportable thus facilitating the beneficial expansion of many disciplines including histories, cartography, medical treatise, architectural planning, literature, poetry, social records and eventually, the beginnings of something that touches all humanity - personal correspondence.
Ink appeared on papyrus in Egypt around 2,600 years B.C. In Asia it was first used even further back during their Neolithic period. India was using ink as far back as the 4th century B.C. and they wrote with a sharp, carved needle. India ink was in fact invented in China, although the materials used in its composition came from India, hence its name. The Chinese also invented the first true paper-making process circa 100 A.D. The main ingredient of these initial inks was soot, which was plentiful as it was the by-product of fire. Amongst the many recipes some had animal grease and various oils added to them to give the ink fluidity. Red iron ochre with plant tannins was another formula, it appeared as a dark blue/black ink that, over time, faded to a dull brown. In Europe, from around 600 to 1500 A.D. parchment made from animal skin was the “paper” that ink was used on. We have a twelfth century ink recipe that used hawthorn branches which, after drying, were pounded and soaked in water and later boiled until it thickened and turned black, wine was even added during the boiling process. This was usually left to dry and later, before use, more wine was added as well as iron salt. It is quirky to think that the first “fountain pen”; that is an implement that could hold a reservoir of ink, dates back to 900 A.D. when a Kalif of Egypt, Ma’ad al Mu-izz, demanded that such a pen be invented so that he would not stain his hands or clothes...perhaps he was messy as well as being finicky.
For centuries sophisticated Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and landscape painting relied on inks. Beautiful, and seemingly endless, Arabic calligraphic variations appeared on paper and tiles in the Islamic world. In Europe from the early 6th century, monastic scribes preserved the literary history of the West... amongst these scribes were women as well as men. In Britain, religious monastic buildings were full of talented scribes that not only left us historic records but created some of the most glorious, illuminated works ever written, such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Later, in the 15th century, with the advent of the printing press, other ink recipes were needed to suit this new invention. Today contemporary variants of ink are essential for typewriters and modern-day computer printing.
Not only has ink been the lifeblood of human development and instrumental in the creation of civilisations, but has also been essential to artists since its invention. For many, such as myself, the introduction to ink was during primary school when it was the next step up from the slate tablet. I remember desks with circular holes, in which sat small ceramic pots, and the teacher coming around with an enamel jug replenishing the inkwells. All this resulted in some very scratchy writing, as the nibs on most pens were not only overworked but damaged, as they were occasionally used as darts when the teacher was absent.
In my personal art journey, I have always been impressed by the pen drawings that illustrated our school textbooks, especially those dealing with the natural world. Such ink drawings were able to depict the nuances and minutiae of the subject matter better than photography. Later, a major influential discovery for me, was the work of Aubrey Beardsley with its sensual beauty and the power of the black and white image resulting solely from ink on paper. I was also captivated by Henry Vandyke Carter’s illustrations in the medical tome Gray’s Anatomy... the doctor’s Bible. Having chosen a career in the visual arts, one soon realised that pen and ink drawings were an integral foundation that underpinned most art. Amongst the geniuses of the Italian Renaissance was the polymath, Leonardo da Vinci, whose spellbinding imagery still resonates today. His pen and ink drawing “The Proportions of the Human Figure” is known worldwide, arguably more so than his famous painting Mona Lisa. His architectural and mechanical sketches were astoundingly prescient. Amongst hundreds of other artists using pen and ink, that I was particularly attracted to, were Durer, Turner, Van Gogh, Bawden and Agnes Miller Parker.
In more recent times John Piper’s pen and wash imagery is part of my personal “bank” of inspiration. So too are the black and white prints and drawings of Iwan Bala and Clive Hicks-Jenkins, alongside the work of Kyffin Williams, who produced pen and ink sketches depicting the Welsh landscape, its inhabitants and domestic animals. In America, Frank Boyden’s peerless draftsmanship saw him produce not only stunning prints but he single handedly revolutionised ceramic wood firing. He did this by drawing and inking in zoomorphic imagery on beautiful vessels, as opposed to replicating medieval Japanese pottery by merely relying on the firing process to enhance the work. Another American, born in York U.K., who I met when I undertook a residency at Clatsop Community College, Astoria, is Nicolas Knapton, from whom I purchased some distinctive figurative pen and ink drawings. Recently, a young talented Borth artist, Jonah Evans, has produced a series of large lino cuts celebrating local coastal wildlife and fish imagery which I have found extremely interesting. I decided early on in my career to utilise a blackand white palette for my ceramics, as opposed tothe prevalent Anglo-Oriental style of the day. I was influenced in part by the Mimbres pottery of the American Southwest and also Picasso’s pots, which were redolent of the Mediterranean.
I was working in Australia at the time so the climate was similar. This chosen palette
reminded me of the summers of my youth, where the dazzling, freshly whitewashed cottages of Borth threw contrasting dark shadows. I favoured the clean, crisp contrast between black and white as it had a fresh feel to it. Occasionally my resulting imagery, despite being an unplanned composition freely drawn onto ceramic vessels and guided by my imagination, had a printmaking/lino cut overtone to it. This was not surprising, as to further embed my interest in a black and white palette, I made intermittent forays into various printmaking techniques when opportunities rose. As my work is influenced by marine creatures such as fish and crabs, I have drawn them incessantly in preparation for decorating my ceramics with their images. All the previously named artists, both historically and contemporaneously, have contributed to my drawing modus operandi on both paper and ceramic. Bottles of India ink and pens were laid aside in favour of fine liner drawing pens which, with their different size tips, make the pointillist aspect of my drawings easier. The coloured version of these pens means that one need no longer use colour washes. My drawings onto ceramics are undertaken with a small knife, with pointillist areas produced by jabbing with a sharpened stick. These are then filled with a black pigment, which reflects the drawing technique I use on paper that are a constant influential part of my art endeavours.
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