Lime/Euca/Dogwood Photos!

Lime, Dogwood & Eucalyptus, Recipe for nice prints!

A FB friend, Kim Cowley posted some prints made using Lime and Dogwood leaves along with some Eucalyptus.  I liked them so much I decided to give them a try myself.  Am I glad I did!  I used the same copper rich dye bath and 140# watercolor paper, and also added leaves of Loropetalum (Chinese Fringe Tree), Hibiscus acetifolia (Roselle), and Red Passionflower vine.  The copper brought some wonderful greens and the Hibiscus acetifolia brought some wonderful blues.  I can't wait for the prints to dry enough for me to handle them.  I now place my prints between sheets of blotter paper to absorb most of the water more quickly, but it still takes at least 4 hours for the paper to become strong enough to handle.  This batch was 5 sheets of 9 x 12 inch watercolor paper, and all but one sheet are printed on both sides.  A quick peek at them told me I have some nice prints, but like all good things, they are worth waiting for.  I will post photos of the prints as soon as I can in the A.M.

Let's get ready to bundle!

Sorry for the delay in getting the photo essay on the blog, but Life happens.  Here in a brief space is the method I use to bundle my paper prints to prepare them for cooking.  Here I am using ceramic tiles, 140# watercolor paper, natural rubber bands and plant materials. Soak your papers in warm water for about 30 minutes, or overnight in cold water.  Place a ceramic tile on a flat surface, lay a sheet of paper on it and place a layer of plant materials on top.  Continue to build the stack of paper and plant materials to the height you wish, then place another ceramic tile on top of the stack.  Using natural rubber bands, or heavy cotton twine,  wrap the bundle securely.  Now your bundle is ready to place in a pot for cooking.  I like to place the last rubber bands at diagonals on the corners to help even the pressure on the tiles.  I hope this helps.

Turning Over a few Leaves!

The first set of pages finally dried enough to turn over.  Here is the second set of 24 pages.  I think this little book is gong to be very special.

Leafing Through the Woods!

I am working on a 48 page book of eco prints, and this is the first 24 pages plus 2 end cap prints.  This was cooked in a copper-rich bath that I have used about 5 times.  It only keeps getting better.  This bath gave me some lovely blues and greens as well as the usual browns tans, chartreuse and black/greys.  I can't wait until they dry enough to turn them over and see the reverse images.  I will post them as soon as I am able.

Punch it up a little!

Here are a few photos of a new technique I tried from a "What if...".  I was thinking about finding new ways to make marks, and especially to carry a theme through my work.  I got the idea to punch out shapes from onion skins with a paper punch and add them to the pages I was preparing to Eco print.  Some very interesting things happened.  I added Callistemon leaves because I knew they contained a lot of tannins, and I added iron threads from old steel belted radial tires;  the prints show the bleed through of these elements and how they affected the prints on paper.  This is on 140# watercolor paper, cooked for 1 hr and allowed to cool overnight before opening.

Doing the Happy Dance!!!

I have really been busy with the prints on paper, but I have discovered the wonders of using copper scrap in the dye bath, and this latest batch of prints are spectacular!  I left them in the dye bath overnight to cool, and when I opened them in the morning, I was overjoyed with the results.  There are many kinds of leaves used, Bauhinia (Orchid Tree) Callistemon (Red Bottlebrush), Eucalyptus, Liquidambar (Sweet Gum), Red Passion Flower, Hibiscus acetifolia, Boston Fern, yellow onion skins,  Tabebuia, Trident maple (Acer, variety unknown), and in addition, I used a few wire threads from old steel belted radial tires I found on the highway.  I used 90 lb. watercolor paper by Strathmore, 12 sheets in a stack between 2 ceramic tiles.  All bound together with natural rubber bands and boiled in a 30 qt. aluminum tamale steamer with 3 copper roof tiles from my daughter's house for one hour and then left to cool overnight.  I am attaching some photos, but with this new system, I hope the prints are large enough for you to see the beautiful pastel subtleties in the prints.  I would encourage everyone to try printing on paper, if nothing else, you will learn something about what colors individual plants can give, fresh or dried.