My sister Moira contributed two beautiful botanical prints to our fundraiser to benefit Indigenous women and children.
With nature as her muse and a printing process that combines both art and science she creates prints that instantly connect you with the magical beauty of the natural world.
One of the ways she creates botanical prints is by combining the natural pigments in stems, leaves and flowers with mordants, moisture and heat. Here’s a closer look at her process:
First she treats water colour paper with alum, which helps set the plant dyes on the paper.
Pussy willows and leaves soak in an iron (ferrous sulfate) bath.
Now it’s time to choose which leaves and stems to use and arrange them on the pretreated paper.
The plant matter is then sandwiched in folded paper and clamped tightly between two cutting boards.
The bundles are simmered for 90 minutes.
Drained and left to cool.
The end result is gorgeous impressions left on the paper.
See the two botanical prints we are raffling here .