More Botanical Papers

I spent the afternoon preserving images of my Mother's Day flowers onto some watercolour papers which are destined to be bound into another journal.  Of course first I had to choose just the right paper which took F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

It was just so hard to choose because I'm getting down to the wire now.  Mostly I have only very special books left...gifts from lovely people and hand bound little morsels from people I think are pretty famous. 

All these papers and journals came out of that little cubby-hole on the right, but did they go back in?  No.
Don't be ridiculous.  

So now there's a bunch of papers snuggled under the spare room bed.  Honestly.  Perhaps I should join a 12 step program for Bookaholics or Journal Addicts Anonymous.

My faithful old aluminium pot is ready for another session.  They don't make pots like this any more (I sound like my mum). 

I should have taken a photo of the bouquet of flowers before I got to it with scissors.  I just get caught up in the moment.  In the zone...you know?  Each time I clamp plants and papers together it is so exciting I just can't wait to see what happens.  

I know...I have no life.

Apparently as an artist I have a rare and privileged opportunity to 'make a statement'.  So?  Who cares.  I just like to put on my pinny,  poke my face into the cauldron, breathe in the delicious aromas, and chuckle away to myself.

Can somebody please let me know if I grow a wart on my nose?

How could anyone not be blown away by nature?

I must admit, when I received this bouquet, my mouth was almost watering at the thought of what I could do when the flowers were spent.

I made my family a yummy home made slice.  We enjoyed a beautiful Mother's Day celebration.  I waited a respectable amount of time.  Then I decapitated the flowers.  Pure bliss.

Eco Dyeing

Magic things have been happening in my kitchen this weekend.

A lovely friend lent me a magazine article about Eco Dyeing on paper.  I've tried a similar technique on fabric using plant material bundled in little fabric parcels, as part of a research project last year, but have never tried that same technique with paper.  I really don't know why because I just love plants, flowers and all things nature related in any type of image.  I'm one of those annoying people who photograph flowers and plants wherever I go.  I sniff them too.  Probably why I have been so graciously endowed with a generous 'snorkel'.

I had visitors for most of the day so I couldn't 'get my craft on' until night time.  But when I did...OMG it was so worth the wait.

The first step in the process is to layer leaves and flowers between pieces of printmaking paper.  I used watercolour paper as that's all I had.  The whole bundle is then clamped between two sheets of perspex and plopped into a boiling bath.  I used half dead roses from my vase but even so, I felt sorry for the poor little blossoms.  It looked really hot in there.  I chucked a few more dead roses in for good measure.  You know...safety in numbers.

After a good couple of hours (I was enjoying a nice happy hour with yet another visitor!) the papers came out of the pot, were rinsed and left out to dry overnight.

The article in the magazine said that roses don't generally release any colour although can leave a nice impression. So I wonder where this colour came from?

I think these images are absolutely stunning!

I can't wait to experiment again, although I need to do a few sensible things first like housework, washing and mowing the lawn before I lose track of the whole weekend...happy-houring and dyeing!