It's amazing how beautiful our natural world is! We can take its beauty and create art with it. It just keeps on giving and oh how I appreciate it! So on this journey of discovery, my dear husband purchased a class for me from Van dusen Gardens on eco-printing. Using flowers from my wonderful neighbour and a little from my garden I was able to create fantastic prints! In this class I learned how to eco-print on 140lb coldpress water colour paper, and the "what ifs" where racing in my mind. What if I used spices? What if I used blueberry powder that my husband uses in his smoothies? The next thing I knew, he too was curious!
Below is my first attempt on 8" x 8" 140lb cold press watercolour paper. I had some left over scraps of water colour paper and used them to create gift tags. Another thought went through my mind, what if I used kraft-tex fabric paper by C&T Publishing. I wondered if the colours would be as vibrant, and if so, I could then sew on it. That will be my next experiment.
As you can see above this was my first try. The dark blue on the one piece was a real blueberry, I squished it first to flatten it. The yellow on the bottom of the page is a spice called turmeric. In this class we learned about mordants, fixatives and tannins. Using the underside of the leaves or the top sides, I discovered difference what would it make.
So, being a fibre artist, I want to try this on fabric - cotton and silk next. There is alot of information on the internet, so if you are interested just check it out. If you have any questions, please email me, I would be happy to answer any questions from my experience and I will keep you posted on my new journey into discovery.
Try something new, it's amazing where it will take you, so until next time, have fun, explore and continue with the "what ifs"!
Cheers,
Sue
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