We decided to experiment with some lichens for natural dying. Lichens are notoriously difficult to correctly identify as there are so many different species that look very similar, and as with seaweeds, a lot do not even have common names, and are only known by th…

Every year I look forward to the flowers of the elder tree. The flowers have long been used not only medicinally but are edible and delicious. Best picked in the morning on a bright sunny day, and best avoided on a wet dull day; the flowers can be made into cordia…

I must admit that this soup was so delicious I can't wait to have some more.   

It's a nettle, wild garlic, tri-corn garlic, and Jack by the hedge soup which is why I have called it foraged spring greens soup. 

Wild Garlic, also called Ramsons (Allium ursinum) was…

One plant you will aways hear me rave about is the humble stinging nettle, I will probably do quite a few posts using this plant as it is so versatile for cooking and utilities. 

On this occasion, I used the nettle leaves I had just foraged to make this delicious …

The last of the pink petals have fallen from the cherry blossom that sits outside my window. Every spring how I love to watch the wonderful pink bloom that lifts spirits, even when the weather hasn't yet lifted.

I like to gather some cherry blossoms each year and …

Water colour is a transparent paint medium that consists of a pigment with a water-soluble binder. The paint is used with water and can be applied in thin layers due to its transparency and builds to a vibrant, rich colour.

In order to make water colour paint we n…

Water colour binder recipes are as varied as cake recipes, they can range from basic to extravagant and everything in between. While the ‘best’ recipe comes down to personal preference, there are still a few basics that need to be followed.

Water colour binder is …

Levigation is the process of ‘reducing a substance to a fine powder or paste’. I start by putting the ground rock into a jar at least 4 times its size, and the jar is filled up with water ensuring all the particles are coated. When it is left to rest, even for as …

Once we have found a source of pigment, whether it be from soil, clay or rock, we must then process it to extract the pigment and make it suitable for the next stage. We start first by scrubbing the rock to remove any impurities like moss or sand.

The rock must b…

Pigments are essentially ‘raw’ colours that are insoluble in water and usually used in powder form.

They are often split into 2 main categories, natural and synthetic. Natural pigments can be found in the form of earth pigments, the likes of rock, clay or soil, mi…

With having several upcoming workshops in the near future on botanical inks, natural dyes and water-colour paint making with earthen pigments, we thought it might be beneficial to clarify the differences between stains, dyes, inks and pigments.

A natural dye is wh…

I recently wrote an article on seeing God in nature for Therapy for Christians. We at Hebron are huge advocates for how nature can heal us mentally as well as physically. Getting outdoors into creation, whether that is in the woods, mountains, or the ocean, it's i…

Most artists know that the best drawing charcoal is made from willow, so having a few artists in the buzzard family we decided to make some for them.

First thing we did was cut and debark the willow

We then found a suitable size tin and cut the willow to size to t…

A lean to shelter is a fantastic type of wilderness shelter that can be built both in coniferous and deciduous woodlands. It is an open fronted shelter that when paired with a a raised bed and a long log fire will keep you warm and toasty.

A bed should always be …

The spruce tree is an evergreen conifer, native to boreal and temperate regions of the world, but are often found in plantations (particularly Sitka Spruce) here in Northern Ireland.

A spruce can be differentiated from other everygreens by looking at their needle…

The shaggy ink cap mushroom is a beauty to look at and fascinating too. Edible when young and pure white, it starts to turn black within hours of being picked and can disappear from your garden as quickly as it arrived.

The shaggy ink cap is quite unique in that a…

Walnut ink is another ink that has good archival properties and was used by many old masters of art in their works. It produces a warm brown, sepia toned ink due to the presence of the dye juglone (which contributes to the Latin name of the walnut tree Juglans sp.…

After our fun with the Oak Gall Ink experiment, we decided to have a look at other sources of ink from nature.

Inks are made up of a colour, normally some sort of water-soluble colour suspended in water and mixed with a binder. Binders are a glue-like substance th…

Oak Gall Ink, sometimes called Iron Gall ink, has been the most common form of ink used for thousands of years, with many important documents and manuscripts written with it. The oldest and most complete Bible known to exist was written using oak gall ink, and Di …

Thank you for stopping by our blog and for taking the time out of your day.

This blog will serve to document our outdoor endeavors and hopefully serve as encouragement and inspiration for your own creative endeavours based in nature.

We will provide recipes and in…

Bushcraft, Backwoodsmanship and Wilderness Living skills provide us with a pathway to restore the connection we have lost with creation, to reignite the ember deep within us all that brings light in our ever-darkening lives and highlights the beauty of the natural…

Hello, there! And thank you for visiting our new blog!

Humankind has an innate instinct to connect with nature and the natural world around us, whilst the modern world calls this connection ‘Biophilia’, we recognise that it is due to the very essence of man’s DNA…