Eco-Prints

These artist’s prints have been made using the eco-dying method which draws pigment directly from the plants. I collect the leaves locally, mostly fallen leaves, sometimes fresh.
The paper is first soaked in a solution containing iron sulphate. The iron acts as a mordant to bind the plant pigments to the paper. [ Mordant- from the french word ‘to bite’] 
The leaves are then bundled tightly in the paper and boiled. The heat draws the pigment from the plant material and the mordant acts as a fixative. Plants that give a good print with this method include Eucalyptus, Grevillia and Casuarina.
I love the earthy organic look and feel of these prints. The folds and creases in the paper are a result of the process, and the paper becomes embossed when the leaves are thick or heavily textured.The colours will often run or bleed through to the other prints in the bundle and leave extraordinary marks that look like strange animals or faces.