WELL AWARE 38: Toronto Ink Company’s Jason Logan on Making Ink and Finding Your Visual Voice

Summary: <br> Photo of Jason by Lauren Koyln<br> I first stumbled Jason Logan’s work through the social media channels of <a href="https://www.horsesatelier.com/">Horses Atelier</a>, a clothing line run by Canadian writers <a href="https://www.claudiadey.com/">Claudia Dey</a> and <a href="https://www.heidisopinka.com/">Heidi Sopinka</a>, who happens to be Jason’s partner. His ink tests occasionally appeared on Horses’ Instagram and I liked them so much I started following his handle, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/torontoinkcompany/?hl=en">@toronotoinkcompany,</a> which started a slow burn obsession. This was probably 2012-ish timing.<br> Jason’s style was a welcome departure from the too-curated, desaturated, shades-of-white, minimal Instagram feeds I followed back then. It seemed like every photo had to be styled and edited and professionally shot, and Jason’s ink tests were a breath of fresh air, respite from the contrived identities we all (yep, myself included) were projecting onto social media.<br> <br> Photo by Danielle Suppa of <a href="http://www.souvenir-studios.com/">Souvenir Studios</a><br> I was also drawn to his experimental approach and focus on the process. He refers to his artwork at Toronto Ink Company as “ink tests,” which is a wonderful way to think about artwork (and everything?). Everything is a test because he is constantly brewing new inks in new ways, and in his process he releases expectations about how they’ll exist in artwork. If it sounds like a spiritual practice, it’s because for Jason, it is.<br> The <a href="http://www.torontoinkcompany.com/">Toronto Ink Company</a> is Jason’s side project-turned-business, and his value prop is that he can make ink from anything. Literally anything. He started by boiling the husks of black walnuts to make a rich brown pigment, and then began to experiment with other materials. Now he makes inks from ash, hibiscus flowers, gypsum stone, turmeric, buckthorn sap, a rusty nail, and much more.<br> <br> Photo by Danielle Suppa of Souvenir Studios<br> To me, the most enriching layer is that he pairs these abstract ink tests—stunning in their own right—with pithy, sometimes dark, sometimes delightfully nonsensical, catchy words and phrases like “know better” and “I mean what I say” and “working it out,” transforming each piece into a feeling. The inks, the handwriting, and the phrases all have a rawness that I find to be mysterious, authentic, and enchanting.<br> Jason shipped some inks for me to try around the time of our interview (September 2017), and I loved them so much that when I went to Toronto in the fall of last year, I bought one in every color and have been experimenting with them since.<br> <br> Photo of Jason’s ink tests at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/souvenirstudios/?hl=en">Souvenir Studios</a> by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mauriciojcalero/">Mauricio Calero</a><br> One important detail to note is that this conversation happened … drumroll please … in September 2017. Almost two years ago! He’d just started working on his book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Make-Ink-Forager%C2%92s-Natural-Inkmaking/dp/1419732439">Make Ink</a>, which is now out in the world.<br> While Toronto Ink Company is the focus of this interview, Jason is also the creative director of Horses Atelier, involved in the creative direction of seven (!) newspapers in Toronto, is working on a documentary, wrote a book, and is a partner and father to three kids. And he brings it all to the table in our conversation.<br> Here’s a preview of what we talked about:<br> <br> a look at his ink making and <a href="http://www.jasonslogan.com/new-page">sketchbook practice</a><br> * the limitless possibility in being a multi-passionate individual<br> * the advantage of having both a career and a side hustle<br> * finding freedom within self-imposed creative boundaries<br>