Writing with Rock with Blackberry Juice :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

Writing with Rock with Blackberry Juice I wanted to write in my own blood. I know where to find blood and I am familiar with its properties as a type of ink, thanks to one rather misguided seventh-grader. Unfortunately, the assignment forbade my first instinct and forced me to get a little more creative. Growing up, I was forced to pick berries with my parents every summer. All of my summer memories include stained, sticky fingers. The idea of using berries as ink was my next idea. Since berries grow in nature and not in my veins, they replaced blood as my ‘ink.’ My next task was to determine what I would use as a stylus. I didn’t think my dog would approve of me cutting his hair to fashion into a brush, so that idea was quickly discarded. While perusing my yard, I happened upon a stick. This small stick was a fortuitous find because each end of the stick could be used differently. One end was hard and even, so I could use it as a sort of chisel on soft material, or a stationary brush on hard material. The other end of the stick was a bit jagged and soft. This end would be like a painter’s brush on hard material, and virtually useless on soft material. Two of the three supplies I had in hand; the most challenging lay ahead of me. The produce section at my local Kroger provided some nice blackberries for ink, but I wasn’t getting much inspiration in the form of a writing surface. Lettuce? Too thin and flimsy. Corn husks? Same problem. Bananas? I felt that using a banana peel was worth a shot. If anything, I would have a nice, healthy snack while working. The area of my backyard that produced the stick stylus also produced two options for a writing surface: a rock and some bark. I choose the bark because it is a tree-product like the paper that holds this explanation.