The ingredients of an Ink Poem  inkstickinkstoneThe ink - Hand-
grinding ink is a process that has been used in China for
thousands of years. A small amount of water is placed on an
inkstone and the inkstick is rubbed against the stone, slowly
wearing down the inkstick and mixing it with the water to form a
deep black ink. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to prepare the ink in
this way. The inkstick is made from the soot of burned oil or
wood and natural glues. For paintings on paper made after 1850 I
use 20 year old Pine Soot inksticks. For work on older, higher
quality rag paper I use a 40 year old Pure Tong Tree Oil Soot
inkstick. Why bother with such a time consuming process just to
get a small puddle of ink? Because this method produces a deep
black permanent pigment that modern factory-made inks cannot
equal. And because I'm weird.  wolf's hair bristle brushThe
brushes - If you're going to go to the trouble of grinding your
ink by hand, you may as well use Chinese brushes and keep it all
in the family, right? I