Making printing paste from Botanical Dyes and Inks

Once the botanical inks have bee made from the dyes - inks are a more concentrated form of the dye, they can be thickened to create paste for screen printing, fabric painting or stamping. Most cellulose thickeners will work but I have used gum arabic in the examples below. The example above used a thermofax screen designed by Jane Dunnewold and elderberry thickened dye on 100% cotton bedsheet (recycled).

Below is a gingko leaf from a commercially made stencil. This used elderberry paste and a stubbing brush used in a vertical up and down motion to created the imprint