Making Paint From Wildfire Ash

Fireweed growing among burned trees in a recovering wildfire landscape

fireweed-regrowth-after-wildfire

Idea Evolution

This experiment began during the summer of 2024 as part of the ongoing Beauty in the Burn project exploring wildfire regrowth cycles.

For the past few years, I’ve found myself repeatedly returning to the Alder Creek burn with my camera. After learning more about natural pigment and ink making, I began wondering if the ash itself could become another form of documentation.

I was learning more about natural pigment making and questioned if the ash could be turned into an ink or paint. A quick search pulled up Exploring Overland‘s experiment on just that. It was a great reference to follow for someone who has never made their own wild pigments before.

First: Collecting Wildfire Ash

On a photography visit, I brought some containers to collect the ash. It was 3-years post fire, so the ash was getting a little harder to come by. I successfully collected a small container worth by scraping the edge up the charred bark.

Charred tree bark with iridescent blue and violet highlights

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Collecting charred wildfire ash from burned tree bark

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Container of collected wildfire ash among fireweed flowers

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Preparing the Ash

Back at home, I began by breaking up the ash into a fine powder. I ran it through a small mesh strainer, and used a spoon to apply pressure and break up the larger pieces.

Sifting wildfire ash into a fine pigment powder

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Refined wildfire ash pigment beside printmaking tools

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Creating the Paint

Once there was a good amount of fine ash, I put it in a small ceramic mortar and pestle with several drops of gum arabic and ground it down further. Then, I used a glass paint muller kit to blend the mixture better.

Wildfire ash ink being mixed in a ceramic mortar

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Pouring handmade wildfire ash ink onto a glass palette

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Wildfire ash pigment being mulled into ink and paint

wildfire-ash-paint-process

Applying to Paper

I did a few tests to try to find a good ratio of ash and liquid. I applied it to what I planned as the background for a brass colored tree ring print on top.

Wildfire ash pigment applied to textured paper surface

wildfire-ash-pigment-paper

Workspace used for creating ink and paint from wildfire ash

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Early experiments using wildfire ash ink in preparation for tree ring prints

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Part of a Larger Project

This experiment is part of the larger Beauty in the Burn project exploring wildfire, regrowth, and the relationship between destruction and renewal.