Wild Privet Ink

January 2024

Picked off a frozen winter bush at my parent’s house.

Soaked berries in distilled water, vinegar and salt overnight.

Cooked gently with alum while mashing on stovetop for 20 minutes.

Strained through metal mesh strainer.

Filtered via coffee filter.

Filtered via coffee filter*.

Added powdered gum Arabic.

Bottled in 60ml Wild Privet Water-Based Ink. Added preservative and 2 drops each clove and wintergreen oil.

This ink looks like red wine in the bottle, but shows up blue on the paper.

*Saved pulp on filter and added to jar with alcohol. Soaked for a day or two and then bottled Wild Privet Alcohol-Based Ink.