Experiments in Eco dying
If you follow my blog you will know I have been experimenting with eco prints on paper. I do not know why it is so much easier to get prints on paper than on cotton as they are both cellulose fibres. I placed some water colour paper, some parchment and som sketch book paper in a container with an iron mordant added. I then took the papers out placed numerous leaves from the gingko and liquid amber tree in my yard on each paper and bundled them together. I placed a cardbooard wrap over the bundle and then steamed them in a roasting pan in the over for 90 minutes. You can see more of these results on my blog page. It was interesting that the most pronounced prints were achieved on the cheaper sketchbook paper - maybe there was less finish on that paper but I would have thought there would be little finish on the water colour paper. I intend to make these into a mini reference hand made journal. I willpost the finished journal on the blog once it is done
This was the second eco dyed cotton piece and on this one I had used some liquidamber leaves. When I had washed and dried the fabric I oould not see any leaf impressions but when I ironed it the faint outlines of the liquid amber appeared like ghost images. I just got Alic Fox's book and in it she talks about walnut ink so I am boiling up the windfall walnuts and husks (we are in the Autumn equinox at the oment) to make the ink and I will the ntry and enhance these shadows and then decide where to go from there
This peice was steamed at the same time. I treid some liquid amber leaves on this one. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the layout before bundling. this one didnt have any black walnut and the design is less circular in its distribution but still a usable piece of cloth so I do feel I am progressing with my techniques to find a method that used readily available mordants to dye on cotton rather than silk
Is it just a muddy peice of fabric or are there possibilities here. The sprinkled black walnut has taken very well - I think it is a substantive dye. The circle of silver dollar gum leaves is in the centre but where the oxalis was there seems to be just white patches although there are yellow tinges around about. Perhaps the most disappointing was the grape colour. There is purple there but compared to the jelly bacg it is very diffuse after washing. maybe the bulk of the dye had already been extracted into the jelly bag. Anyway it is an interesting piecs of fabric. Now I just need to decide wherther I try and enhance the mandala effect or just use the fabric in other things as is
I could see at this stage that there had definitely been some dye transfer
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