Symonne de la Croix

                 Researching Oak Gall Ink               By Lady Symonne de la Croix                                      29.2.20 Researching how to make oak gall ink is proving to be more complex than I thought it would be. So many period recipes but which to choose. And when I choose I will have to work out what medieval weights were in relation to modern, as I have recently found out that they can be different.  But where to start looking?  Google hasnt been very helpful yet. Apparently a pound can be 12 ounces instead of 16. An added difficulty is being Australian,we work in metric so that adds to the equations.  Well here I go down another rabbit hole.....

                        VERDIGRIS BATH                   By Lady Symonne de la Croix                                  19.2.20 I started a Verdigris bath a bit over a month ago and today was harvest day! I used a double strength vinegar which seemed to speed along the process in the beginning. I think the warmth we have been experiencing helped also. I removed the copper from the vinegar and allowed it to dry. Interesting how the reaction only occurred on the parts that were above the vinegar.  I will need to figure out a way to suspend them in the fumes in the future. The vinegar went a very pretty blue. I decided to reuse it with the copper after I removed the verdigris. I scraped away the verdigris with a safety razor.  It came away quite easily.  I recommend gloves and a face mask as it tends to become somewhat airborne when it is scraped. I was pleased with the amount of pigment I was able to procure.  Much more than it appea

                  DURER WOODCUT              By Lady Symonne de la Croix                               16.2.20                   On the weekend I entered into the River Haven Arts & Science competition which I am so pleased to say that I won. I am an absolute newby in woodcarving and printing so I was very proud of myself. I learnt so much researching this project and think I will try it again. Heres a link to my Google docs documentation https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CYRzhhK1MHo6l7n-CEvivKxVTrpUg_Lno8qK_dd9ZrE/edit?usp=drivesdk Enjoying SCA competitions very much. And surprisingly for me, I am enoying doing the documentation.

                     DRAGONS BLOOD              By Lady Symonne de la Croix                                 8.2.20    I recently bought Dragons Blood on line which turned out to be fake.  When crushed it became very pale, think crushed coloured glass.  Which was disappointing. I did more research into it and sourced some from another dealer which, happily, is the real thing.  This lot of Dragon's Blood came with an import certificate which was promising. It looks significantly different then the other one. Firstly I broke it up with a hammer a little then used mortar and pestle.  Crushed up easily enough but still gritty.  I put some through an electric coffee grinder which helped until I decided to give it a huge go and the heat of the machine, or something, caused it to start to harden. It took a lot more water to hydrate it to a paste and had a very different 'feel' to it.  Perhaps because it is a resin?  I normally use a bit unde

         More Alchemy with Cochineal                By Lady Symonne de la Croix                              7.2.20 Continuing my Alchemy eperiments with the failed cochineal lake. Well fail in as much that things didnt go to plan but I have some nice purples. Used different based such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, soda (which definitely didnt work), egg shells and mixes of each.  Different amounts and other variables. Now just need to wait for the light fastness tests to see if I have a viable pigment.