Background
On my evening walks, I pass a certain oak tree. This oak is remarkable for the number of oak galls which fall from it every year. I began picking up the galls with the thought of learning to make iron gall ink for the benefit of my friends and others who do calligraphy. Over the months I noticed variations in the conditions of the galls and, in my mind, I categorized them as follows: “green” galls which fell before the larvae inside had matured; firm, brown galls from which the larvae had hatched; and rotten, moldy galls which fell late in the winter rains. I wondered if the condition of these galls (under-ripe, over-ripe, and “just right”) might have an effect on the quality of ink?
Hypothesis
Environmental factors affect whether an oak gall falls shortly after the larvae hatches, falls before they hatch, or falls after an entire winter season has passed. The factors under which the gall falls determines the composition of the material makeup of the gall. Under-ripe galls are green in color, dense, and contain the larvae of oak gall wasp larvae. Ripe galls are light brown, contain a hollow space, are larger than under-ripe galls, and show evidence of the larvae having exited. Over-ripe galls are mottled dark brown-black, contain mold spores, and have a bread-like consistency. I hypothesize that these conditions will affect the general quality of the ink made from them.
Controls
During Collection
All of the oak galls used in this experiment were collected from one specific tree, a Garry Oak (Quercus garryana), also know as an Oregon White Oak, outside of Olympia, WA. All of the galls were induced by the larval development of Andricus californicus, the largest of the four oak gall wasps native to the Pacific Northwest. Each gall began forming in the Spring of 2022. All of the under-ripe galls were collected in late Summer of that year. The ripe galls were collected in Autumn of the same year, and the over-ripe galls were collected in late Winter of 2023.
During Preparation
In order to bring the galls to a common moisture level (the under-ripe galls having natural water content; the over-ripe ones were quite soaked with rain water) they were all laid out in a warm, dry room with good air circulation. The under-ripe galls noticeably reduced in size and weight during this time. The over-ripe galls firmed up, losing their wet-bread consistency, and returning to the same firmness as the ripe and under-ripe galls. Once the galls achieved less than 20% moisture (as checked by a Klein Tools ET140 Pinless Moisture Meter) they were stored in paper grocery bags.
During Production
In October 2023, the galls were pulverized to a common consistency. Careful effort was made to keep the three conditions of galls separated and to avoid cross-contamination. Gall matter was weighed using a Mocco SF-400D gram scale, and precise amounts were placed in sterile glass canning jars. Precisely six ounces of distilled water was added to the jars. Two weeks later, the contents of each jar -individually- were boiled with two additional cups of distilled water for exactly ten minutes. Between each batch, the pot used for boiling was thoroughly cleaned and dried to avoid cross-contamination. A separate wooden stirring stick was used for each batch for the same reason. Each batch was poured through clean, fresh cheesecloth back into the jar from which it had come. Precise, measured amounts of both ferrous oxide and gum arabic were added to each jar. All of the above was done on a single afternoon with stable atmospheric conditions. Please see section “Recipe” for more information. The jars were sealed with canning lids until all were opened on the same day, five months later.
During Testing
All tests were conducted with Speedball C-4 nibs on Canson XL Mixed Media paper. Each pen used was specific to each jar of ink to avoid cross-contamination. After each use, the pens were cleaned in distilled water and thoroughly dried.
Variables
Oak galls in three conditions were selected for this experiment. “Under-ripe” galls were not fully matured, contained the remains of gall wasp larvae, and were of an obvious green hue (indicating a somewhat different chemical composition than the Ripe and the Over-ripe galls). “Ripe” galls differed in having no larvae inside. “Over-ripe” galls differed in containing mold spores.
Additionally, eve within a type the galls were not collected at the same time. Under-ripe galls were collected over several weeks in the Summer of 2022. Ripe galls were collected over a period of two month in Autumn 2022. Over-ripe galls were collected over three weeks in late Winter 2023.
Furthermore, all galls were collected from off of the ground and may be contaminated with foreign matter, especially plant matter.
Lastly, testers were volunteers with varying experience with ink and varying opinions on what constitutes ‘good’ ink.
An attempt was made at accounting for these variables by producing three batches of ink for each condition of oak gall, by inviting a large number of testers, and by not proscribing a set of qualities to test (but rather gathering feedback on general impressions).
Testing
Each jar of ink was labelled with a batch number (1, 2, or 3) and a coded word (Red, Yellow, or Blue). The code words obfuscate to the testers the nature of the condition of the gall from which each batch of ink was made. The first round of testing was conducted at An Tir’s Kingdom Arts & Sciences competition on March 2, 2024 and had fifteen participants. The second round of testing will be at Glymm Mere’s Lyceum on March 9, 2024. Testing will continue until a sufficient data set is collected. Each tester is invited to draw or write with each ink from a single batch number (for example: 2 Red; 2 Yellow; and 2 Blue) and provide feedback.
Testers are asked in advance to provide a general sense of the qualities of each ink and are not limited to any set of criteria. Testers are informed that they might find one ink better than the other two, or two inks superior to the remaining one, or they may feel that all three inks might be of the same quality. All of these are valid options.
This blog post will be updated as results come in.
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