Natural Ink Play Station at Capitol Regional Watershed District’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

To celebrate CRWD’s 25th anniversary I wanted to create a special selection of natural inks connected to the district.

With the direction of CRWD, I focused on specific areas of interest in the district to collect plants for the play station color palette, including the CRWD office grounds, Willow Reserve, Lake McCarrons and the Mississippi River. Over 20 plants, both native and invasive, were collected for this project. Buckthorn, Sumac, Jerusalem Artichoke, Grape, Walnut, Chokecherries, and Elderberries are a few.

These inks were available for attendees to play with, choosing either a blank sheet of paper or a CRWD 25th Anniversary screenprinted mini coloring poster. custom designed by myself. The inks were accompanied by plant samples so participants could easily connect their source.