Making paint from waterfall slate
Slate isn’t the easiest rock to grind up. The first time I made paint, I gathered a few rocks from here and there to see what I would get. This rock lives near the waterfall and because of the various hues of colors I saw in it, became one of my first few sets of paints. I called it “Waterfall Shale”. I think it’s really slate, though.
I don’t really know which one it is. Maybe if the state geologists come back out here to do more looking around, I’ll remember to ask! The previous pieces I used didn’t have the gorgeous red layers in it though. I’m pretty sure this is going to affect the color. The next paint I make with this one will get a variation on the name. I’ll call it “Wild Waterfall Slate”.
Now that I’ve had a little time to learn better technique, I want to try it again. Check back later to see what became of that beautiful slice of rock. Hopefully it transformed into an equally beautiful handmade watercolor paint!
Slate or Shale?
They’re both the same sort of rock, but slate has been under compression longer and is harder. Since the rocks I found are very hard to grind, and they don’t crumble easily (except for the very thin slices) I’m calling them slate.