Making charcoal is one of those wild crafts that is just perfect for winter! ❄️ The sounds of snapping twigs, crackling fire and charcoal on paper always makes me feel so cosy and warm, despite the weather. 🔥 If you’re going to enjoy this craft too, please remember to thank the trees and the earth for providing your materials, and to leave no trace when it comes to tidying away after your fire. 🙏 Here’s everything you need to know to make some really good, solid and smudgy charcoal: 🪵 Find a hazel tree and look for dead, fallen twigs around it (green wood had lots of moisture in it, so dead twigs are best!) Pick up the driest ones you can find - they need to be fairly dry, so if it’s been raining, just pop the twigs on your radiator for a day or two. 🖤 Now, pack your dry twigs into a tin with a tiny hole in the lid. Pop onto a fire and allow to heat over flames or embers. You’ll see steam coming out of the hole in the top. The charcoal is ready when the steam has completely stopped! For my twigs that was around 25 minutes. 🌲 Wait until the tin cools completely, then take off the lid and reveal your rich charcoal perfect for sketching, smudging or exploring texture! Every stick will produce pigment a little differently depending on the density of the wood! Hazel is my personal favourite, which is why I’ve suggested it, but you can of course experiment with all types of wood! Now for the all important question… which tree would you draw?! 🌳 #bushcraft #forestschool #theartistsway - @foragedbyfern