What is the charcoal that Ryan uses again to dye his moss?
Thanks
Sumi ink, which is made from charcoal
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It is available from multiple sources and a little goes a long way. I think I use less than 1 oz in a gallon of water. It will not harm your skin, but can be hard to wash off so I wear gloves until the moss dries.
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Yuenboku ( sumi made of lamp soot) and Shoenboku ( sumi made of burnt pine) so soot is collected to make the ink and mixed with vegetable oil. Lots of work to make black ink.
Ok cool.
So just mix with water. Soak the moss then let it dry?
Anything more too it I am missing?
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That has worked for me. I think it is easier to grind into small pieces when it is a compressed chunk before you soak it. I use a 1/2" (12 mm) screen as my grating board and find that almost all of it will go through a smaller screen after grating. I make sure to wear a mask when grating or screening since the spores can be bad for the lungs.
and gloves. The sumi stains quite heavily.
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