Sumi
Written by: adekun on 28 July, 2008 6:26 pm - Filed under: blog ?
The activity for yesterday’s edition of DASH村 was the making of writing tools for sumi-e.
First off was the ink stick (sumi); a tablet of soot bonded together with a warmed animal glue. After sweeping the stove and kiln’s flue, the shortfall was made up by burning more resinous wood.
Once ground in a pestle and mortar a little of the glue was added. The contents were then rolled on an oiled board until smooth and placed in a wooden mould. This was held together with a G-cramp for half an hour. Following this, the already hard block (rather like a stone) was put away for a further three months in a bed of newspaper and ash.
The team also made a clay ink stone (suzuri) and fashioned brushes from lengths of bamboo. A little water is placed on the ink stick before being rubbed on the stone to create the ink.
