Fallen Branches, Oak Gall Ink Paintings
2024−2025
Oak galls form when a tiny wasp lays its eggs on an oak tree, and they can be used to create oak gall ink. Between the fifth and nineteenth centuries, much of Western history, including the Magna Carta, Da Vinci’s drawings, and Mozart’s music, was written, drawn, and recorded with ink made from oak trees.
Clare Hewitt made oak gall ink and used it to create these paintings of fallen branches from the oak trees.
Painted on recycled watercolour paper. Frames are made from reclaimed scaffolding boards by workshop participants who are apprentices at The Wood Shack in Clare Hewitt’s hometown, Birmingham. The Wood Shack is a Social Enterprise that collects and repurposes local waste wood. The framing workshop was led by Jamie Murray and Clare Hewitt.