The basketry willow in our plantation at Iden has now reached its maximum height. Once the leaves have all fallen, we will know the sap is down and they are ready for harvesting.
Meanwhile we have been boxing up the artist’s charcoal we make, with the willow off-cuts from the basketmaking process, ready for Christmas sales.
All the artist’s charcoal we make starts its life as willow growing on our plantation. After using the willow for my basketry work, I collect all the trimmings. The thicker trimmings and left-over pieces are what we use to make the charcoal, while the thinner bits are bundled up and dried to use as kindling on our fire.
The willow is then cut into lengths and put into tins which are put in a fire. The reduced oxygen in the tin means that the willow doesn’t burn when it gets hot but any moisture and volatile constituents are removed, escaping through a tiny hole that we make in the top of the tin. The tins have to be left to cool before opening otherwise the influx of oxygen will mean the sticks will burn completely.
The process is called pyrolysis and what is left is almost pure carbon. It is a similar process when barbecue charcoal is made but that is on a much bigger scale in purpose-made kilns. Artist’s charcoal can also be mass produced in larger containers and this is usually done with just one variety of willow. You can buy packets of the nice uniform charcoal made this way in art shops.
Unlike this, our homemade version is made with various different willows that have different thicknesses, densities and hardness. This means that the charcoal we produce varies in size, density, consistency and colour, and every box contains a selection of different pieces. We find that artists who like to experiment enjoy trying the different textures and tones, which the charcoal enables them to make.
The charcoal is available to buy online here https://willowweaver.com/shop/p/natural-artists-charcoal
Image Credits: Julie Gurr .