Last weekend we went to an open day at the Harris Garden, part of the University of Reading.
For some reason I’d completely forgotten how to make my camera behave, so I managed to come home with a grand total of three in-focus photos.
Here they are!
Ribwort plaintain leaf
Today I have been mostly hitting plants with a hammer.
As you do.
It’s a technique called “hapa-zome”, coined by India Flint, that literally means “leaf dye” in Japanese.
Using a few sheets of thin cardboard to cushion my work table, I laid out a small piece of silk paj, and placed the plantain leaf on top. The silk was folded in half, leaving the leaf sandwiched in between. I popped a plain sheet of paper over the top… and hit it with a hammer.
A rubber hammer is advised, but I don’t have one of those, so I used my leather jeweller’s hammer instead. The trick is in hitting the leaf hard enough that the colour transfers onto the fabric, but not so hard that it turns into mush and gets stuck to the silk.
nasturtium petals
The plantain leaf took a fair bit of hammering before I had a nice even print. These nasturtium petals, on the other hand, I barely had to touch. Interestingly, when I peeled them off the fabric they were almost transparent, having been bright orange beforehand. The print they’ve left behind is very soft and faint, almost ghostly.
These prints won’t be light fast, but apparently they should last a good couple of years if they’re not washed too often. I can’t decide whether or not I like them… but I’m keen to bring home some more leaves and have another go.
