Intervals of tobacco ink reduction by the half-quarter hour
You know how smoking yellows your teeth? In 2022, I wondered if I could extract that color for myself. The rest has been a sweet smelling history. (It smells like molasses and jazz, if you were wondering).
Aside from its visual (and olfactory) appeal, tobacco carries intense symbology: (Southern) Americana, propaganda, addiction, labor, sex, death, and desire. And smoking.
All tobacco is sourced from Anderson Farms in Leggett, NC (my uncle).
Drying line
Test Swatches, 2022
Jar of ink (jar designed by Miller Dalton (https://millerdalton.design/))
Raw leaves before soaking
UTC
Ink and graphite on paper
Test swatches, 2024
Test swatches, 2023
Glamour shot, raw leaves
Tobacco ink and foraged ochre on canvas panel
Tobacco leaves and tylose on canvas panel
Ground tobacco and tylose on canvas panel
Tobacco ink on canvas panel
Test swatches, 2022
Tobacco ink with handmade earth paints
Jar of ink
Sketch with tobacco stain, 2025
Intervals of reduction
Final stage of reduction
The aftermath
First ink attempt (2022)
