Jason Logan is a Toronto-based illustrator and writer who likes to make his own inks. So much so that he has established The Toronto Ink Company, an enterprise that offers colours like Wild Grape Purple and Acorn Cap Silver. Jason forages for materials to use as base colours in city parks, back alleys and railway tracks; experimenting with everything from walnuts to cigarette butts. His enthralling book Make Ink - A Forger’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking (Abrams) walks through his process and provides recipes to help the adventuresome make inks of their own. Recommendations on thickeners, binders, glass containers, pigments and water are also covered. For instance, did you know that soft rainwater will produce a very different ink than seawater? “Color, the way I experience it,” says Jason, “is a playground where science and magic meet.” It’s one artist’s way of putting a contemporary spin on an ancient craft.