A New Field
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Recipe

Charcoal drawing sticks

Thin willow twigs cooked slowly in a sealed tin until they become charcoal.

Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.

What you’ll make

Velvet black, soft, smudgy, holds edges when sharpened.

Flexible slots (flex around your material)

  • Wood

    Lignin-rich woodA handful of twigs

    Stiff, dense wood particles. Holds shape when compressed.

    Examples Willow, vine, grape, dogwood twigs

    Note — Remove bark.

Fixed ingredients

    Equipment

    • Old biscuit tin with a small hole
    • foil
    • oven or fire
    • pliers.

    Refinements and variations

    • Try vine, grape or dogwood twigs
    • Thicker twigs give softer tones.

    Source notes

    Traditional artist practice.