The Book Lab is excited to announce its first exhibition, opening August 4th, 2021 in the Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities (Maxwell Hall).
Natures Hues: Inkmaking in Book History and Book Arts considers the relationship between the book and the natural world through the long tradition of making ink with natural pigments, foraged and cultivated. For much of the history of writing, the reliance on natural materials for the creation of ink has been a convenience, an ideal, a constraint, and often a necessity. Some natural inks have been in continuous use for millennia, and the use of these ancient inks persists alongside texts inscribed with them, some of which are nearly as old. In the modern world, natural inkmaking is no longer a necessity but is—as it always has been—a process of artistry, experimentation, and refined craft that engages a sense of color and a sense of chemistry. Natural inkmaking also connects the book arts to annual cycles of growth, pruning, and harvesting; thoughtful and sustainable cultivation; and a purposeful attention to indigenous species and biomes.
Nature’s Hues closes on September 4th, 2021.