a movable feast: aya suiboku

finally did a little test run with the aya inksticks.

these color insticks are used in nihonga or traditional japanese painting.

as i was having problems w. c card readers in japan i had to limit purchases. i didn't want to make extensive use of conbini atms bcse they were expensive so i was really counting on the cash i had with me. and a couple of exeptions such as high end places where readers behaved as intended.

all this detour to mention that i didn't go to pigment tokyo and bought some of the inkstiks i wanted in kyoto.didn't get the water dish and spent time ever since i came back looking for alternatives. this one from the chinese bazaar works. so here i am doing some experimental work to see what they are like and how they work.

so far enji, which lo and behold is cochineal.

you pour a drop of water and rub the stick, here you can see some color.the color is intense and saturated works somewhat different from the shodo inksticks i have. granted they are not the very best from kobaien plus rubbing inksticks for making ink for shodo is akin to a zen practice. however these inksticks feel pleasant in hand regarding shape, weight and texture.