Sumptuous Sumi with Jill Berry

I know nothing about sumi ink so this class was a revelation to me, not to mention a complete change of pace -- no metal, no fire, no hammering of stuff.  Jill is a real easy-going teacher so it didn't bother me that I had no idea whatsoever how to use the ink. I sat next to Carol and Mabel Dean, one of Susan's favorite teachers, was in front of us, and Marcy, a goodwill ambassador for the pleasures of living in Colorado, was in the back row. You can see all of us in Jill's slide show.

Shown here are my feeble attempts to use sumptuous sumi ink as we worked through Jill's directed exercises.  At the end of class we had the opportunity to do some creative work but by then my brain was fried. Marcy (at the back, in a bright Hawaiian shirt in Jill's slide show) made some interesting looking landscapes (laid out at the top of her table).

Sumi ink has great potential in my clay work because of its composition. Actually, I don't know what its composition is but it has to be radically different from acrylic paint. Only time will tell.  For the record, yesterday I put my hands on clay for the first time since April. One Dude has been created ...

The top picture is sumi ink and walnut ink with salt sprinkled on it. The second picture is a detail showing the salt still on it. The third picture (above) is gel medium, walnut ink and sumi ink that was blown with a straw. The fourth picture (below) is sumi ink and walnut ink (which I obviously really like) that were painted as a response to listening to Yo-Yo Ma playing.