Ink-Making & Mark-Making: The Magic of Black Beans
Create ink from black beans, explore pH-sensitive colour shifts, and bring your art to life with natural pigments on paper and fabric. Facilitated by artist Megan Willow Hack.
What to Expect
We’ll begin by extracting colour from black beans, exploring how their pigments react to different pH levels—shifting between deep purples, soft blues, and moody greys. You’ll then experiment with your handmade ink, using it for mark-making on paper and fabric in response to the beautiful surroundings of OmVed Gardens.
What You’ll Learn
The process of extracting color from organic materials
The difference between fugitive and colorfast dyes
How pH levels affect natural pigments
Techniques for mark-making using botanical inks
What’s Included
All materials, including black beans, fabric, and paper
A step-by-step guide to botanical ink-making
Hands-on drawing and mark-making exercises
Who Can Take Part?
Open to all—whether you're an artist, nature lover, or just curious about natural pigments! No prior experience is needed.
About the Host
Megan Willow Hack is a socially engaged artist currently studying Art & Ecology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her work explores the connections between nature, community, and materiality, using foraged earth pigments and traditional dyeing techniques. She has led eco-focused workshops across Europe, from London to Venice, fostering deeper relationships between people and the landscapes they inhabit.
www.meganwillowhack.co.uk @megan.w.hack
About OmVed Gardens:
OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events, and learning space in North London dedicated to exploring the connections between food, ecology and creativity for health and climate resilience. We are on a mission to inspire ecological awareness and action, and deepen our understanding of interconnectedness with the natural world.
As a registered Community Interest Company, all our activities prioritise social and ecological objectives. Whether collaborating with chefs, creatives, gardeners, or schools, OmVed Gardens is a hub for education, connection, and action. We aim to inspire individuals and communities to reimagine their role in building a healthier, more resilient world.
We work to increase biodiversity - of species, seeds, food systems, and participation, through regenerative gardening, seed saving, habitat creation, and ecological education. Our space serves as a living example of how urban areas can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that support both human and non-human communities.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter for tips from the garden and kitchen and hear about our upcoming activities:
www.omvedgardens.com · @omvedgardens
Subsidised Tickets
We encourage young people to take part in the group. Participants aged 16-25 can receive a 50% discount on the sessions. To apply, please email events@omvedgardens.com with the event name and a copy of your ID. Discounts are subject to availability.
Refund Policy:
Tickets are non-refundable, except in cases where a waiting list exists for the session. If the event is sold out, a refund may be considered if requested up to 10 days prior to the session date. Please write to us for any refund inquiries.
Location
OmVed Gardens, N6 5JF