WOLF FULL MOON: january colour

ivy + rosehip

Ivy + Rosehip Colours. January 2024

New findings in Ivy and Rosehip ink making, Studio Notes, plant knowledge and seasonal practice.

As the FULL WOLF MOON reaches its peak today we are met with the cold chill of its glow through crisp/damp night air. It is said (according to the wisdom of the internet rabbit hole) that the WOLF MOON is so named as it would be in this cold, snowy season that the howl of wolves could be heard through the night as packs searched for sustenance. The January days can feel sparse of sustaining meals for us in terms of the energy it provides. We may feel at once emboldened to launch into the year and holding back as the energy draws us to more low-key pursuits (hello bedtime at 9pm).

3 minutes

I heard on the radio that the days are getting longer by 3 minutes a day.

The sun is rising a minute or so earlier each morning.
And setting a minute or so later each evening.
This little parcel of information has captured my imagination.

A tiny sliver of extra light at the edges of dawn and dusk.
Almost imperceptible.
But cumulatively adding 20-ish minutes' more daylight with each passing week.

-Suzy Darke Newsletter

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JANUARY COLOUR

In this INKLINGS I share with you a gentle array of colours created from the winter plants Ivy berries and the still present hardy Rosehips from last autumn’s fruiting. After sharing the recent hearty DARK MOON post this turning towards the light - and colour is all about light - has been a natural shift. There is always both the light and the dark. There is always change. There is always movement. There is always paradox and the complimentary and the grating. I am observing and welcoming this flex, flux and tension more and more into my work and practices and have some thoughts brewing on the theme of “you are not your writing”. Words for another day.

Black Ivy Berries

This batch of ivy berries was gathered from a fallen tree at the edge of Llawhaden Woods in Pembrokeshire, just where the Landsker line divides the county in two. The bridal way turns into a muddy path, slopping alongside the stream, and the Ivy had fallen over the path. The leaves were beginning to wilt and curl. This may have been the ivy dying back, or it may have simply been its growing patterns changing. With the abruptness of the fall, a reorientation is needed. Recalibrating to its new angle and where the light is coming from.

According to the navigator and explorer Tristan Gooley (a childish moment of enjoyment for the surname), the young ivy plants grow away from the light in order to find and settle on their host tree. Then, when it has established itself upon that host tree, winding its way up and around its trunk, it will then grow towards the light. The leaf shapes differ between a juvenile and mature ivy leaf, which is very helpful for the walker and landscape navigator because, if you know the leaf shapes and this handy titbit about Ivy’s growing patterns, this plant can act as a handy compass. The juvenile leaves will be growing in a northerly direction, and the more mature leaves in the southerly (if you in the northern hemisphere).

Pretty neat, eh?! Goodness, I do love learning plant facts.

The Walkers Guide to Outdoor Clues + Signs - Tristan Gooley.

I gathered unripe green berries and black ripe berries and simmered these up in different small pots. Over Christmas, I gathered a handful of black Ivy berries from my sister’s garden and put them in the freezer before making ink. With other berries, this is a helpful tip to start breaking down the plant and promote a richer colour before adding heat. However, this and/or keeping them on the heat for too long resulted in a murky colour being produced that did not respond as well to the brightening modifiers - citric acid + sodium carbonate.