Van Dieman's Inks 2025 June - Orchid Mantis

🪷 Delicate Beauty with Hidden Strength 🪷

June brings a new wonder to the micro world—meet the Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus), one of nature’s most elegant tricksters. With petal-like limbs and hypnotic stillness, this creature disguises itself among flowers not just to hide, but to hunt. Graceful and hauntingly beautiful, the Orchid Mantis reminds us that softness and strength often wear the same face.

Our Orchid Mantis ink captures this balance with a stunning light, fleshy pink base, leaning cool with the faintest blue undertone. On high-quality paper, soft blue rivering lines emerge as it dries, giving the ink a sense of movement and life. To finish, a delicate silver shimmer flickers quietly across the surface, subtle yet striking. It’s an ink of softness, mystery, and exceptional shading potential—perfect for graceful writing, intricate drawings, and ethereal calligraphy.

✨ Ink Details:

• Base Color: A light, soft flesh-toned pink with cool undertones

• Shading: Excellent shading range from pale blush to deeper rose

• Chromatic Features: Blue river lines on premium papers like Tomoe River and Rhodia

• Shimmer: Subtle silver shimmer—elegant and controlled

• Best For: Medium, broad, calligraphy, and flex nibs

🎨 Box Artwork
Belinda Rix illustrated this month's box using an ink line and wash technique on watercolour paper, capturing the grace and ghost-like stillness of the mantis amidst a cool twilight bloom.