Artists have been very inventive when using different materials to create their art. Our artist, Gary Spicer has taught public school for 41 years and the strict funding policy has inspired him to seek different ways to instruct his students and teach them to be resourceful.

 

One of these ways is Stick and Ink drawing. You take a stick from a tree and sharpen it in a pencil sharpener or with a knife. Then dip the point of the stick into a bottle of India ink.

 

Draw the linier portions at first and then as the stick begins to run out of ink, turn the stick sideways like you would with a pencil and shade things by rubbing the remaining ink from the stick.

 

The ink gets perforated down into the grains of the wood and as you work, the ink rubs off the surface and gets renewed each time you dip it back into the ink.

 

Vincent Van Gogh was known to use this technique.