Grinding Sumi Ink

The smell of sandalwood fills the air. A gentle scraping sound is heard from the other room. Everything turns black. No, the world isn't ending. We're just over here grinding our own sumi ink!

In this immersive episode, we talk about the various forms of sumi ink and walk you through an audio demonstration as Christen grinds her own sumi ink on an inkstone. While she grinds enough ink for a small painting or calligraphy piece, Christen and Ajab have a little "ink chat" and share about some of their favorite inks, their first inks and the other joys of writing.

Supplies: 

Moon Palace Sumi Ink: https://www.paperinkarts.com/moonpa.html 

Black ink stone: https://www.johnnealbooks.com/product/shakyo-ken-ink-stone  

Black ink stick: https://www.johnnealbooks.com/product/akanegimo-ink-stick-30210 

Color ink sticks: https://www.johnnealbooks.com/product/japanese-color-ink-sticks 

Porcelain ink stone: https://www.johnnealbooks.com/product/suzuri-ink-stone 

Sources: 

https://www.britannica.com/art/suiboku-ga#:~:text=suiboku%2Dga%2C%20also%20called%20Sumi,in%20the%20mid%2D14th%20century.  

https://www.sumi-e.it/en/what-is-sumi-e/ 

https://www.shine.cn/feature/art-culture/1903231709/#:~:text=The%20earliest%20human%2Dmade%20inksticks,Qin%20administrator%20in%20Hubei%20Province.