Calligraphic Connections
  • Home
  • My Blog

Leaf printing process

30/8/2013

0 Comments

 
I promised that I would write about how the leaf printing I do is achieved.  
I'll try to remember the entire process although I have had trouble in the past remembering each step.  The process is quite forgiving though, so if a step is missed the results can still be pretty good.

First up is the gathering of the leaves.  I like to use Australian native leaves such as gum leaves of different varieties, wattle leaves, banskias etc.  I only ever gather the leaves that are on the ground as a result of a natural process or those leaves that the cockatoos have so thoughtfully pruned especially for me.
Picture
Close up of my personal gardener having a rest.
If I have the time I press the leaves under weights.  Although this step is not essential I find that flat leaves are easier to handle.  I'm not sure if they print better or not.
Picture
Leaves under weights.
Having gathered the leaves and pressed them the next step is to prepare the paper.  I use any paper to hand and have found that as you would expect, different paper reacts in different ways.  It is well worth experimenting to find the paper that gives the results you want.  It seems that different papers react very differently with different leaves.  
I fold the paper into concertinas and although this is not absolutely necessary but it probably does aid in keeping the papers together. 
The next step is to arrange the leaves on the paper in whatever design you feel will make the best print.
Then, sandwich the paper with the leaves between two pieces of cardboard and tie together tightly with string.
You can make as many bundles as your steamer can allow or until you run out of leaves or paper or whatever comes first.
Picture

The next step in the process is to soak this bundle in a solution of vinegar and water.  The solution I use is 2 cups of water to 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  The bundles should be soaked for at least one hour, more if possible.  I forgot to soak the bundles once and the middle of pages didn't get steamed.  See the photo below.  It gave a rather lovely skeleton photo but not quite what I was wanting.
Picture
After soaking the papers place the the bundle in a steamer (I use an electric fry pan) with bits of rusted metal such as nails etc, a solution of 2 cups of water to 2 tablespoons of vinegar, weighed down by a heavy brick and brought to the boil.  To steam, the papers have to sit above the water.  This can be achieved by sitting the bundles on a grid or small glass jars.

It is of course very important to keep all this process separate to any cooking and not to use any utensils or containers for cooking afterward.

It is then left to steam for a couple of hours checking every so often to ensure that the water does not evaporate completely.

Then, it is time to open the bundle.  After removing the plant material and composting the leaves, the beautiful papers are revealed.  I have read that some eco printers wait for 24 hours before they have a look at their prints.  NOT me!  I barely wait 24 seconds!  
Now all you have to do is experiement with different methods, different solutions and different leaves.

Many thanks to Bev for introducing me to this exciting method of printing.  Bev has recently had an article published in the June 2013 edition of Raised Bands, the newsletter of the Canberra Craft Bookbinders' Guild.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    LYNDELL DOBBS

    Calligrapher, Printer and
    Book Artist

    Categories

    All
    Accordion Book
    Alaw
    A Letter A Week
    Alice In Wonderland
    Amity Parks
    Ann Hechle
    Art Deco
    Bamboo Pens
    Boab Trees
    Bookbinding
    Book-cloth
    Books
    Boxes
    Calligraphy
    Canb
    Canberra
    Canberra Calligraphy Society Exhibition 2019
    Canberra Show
    Cards
    Cat
    Celtic
    Chine Colle
    Chine-colle
    Cockatoos
    Collaborations
    Collage
    Collographs
    Concertina Binding
    Coptic Binding
    Cranes
    Criss Cross Binding
    Cross Structure Binding
    David Jones
    Decorated Papers
    Denise
    Dominic Riley
    Dos Rapporte
    Drum Leaf Binding
    Dry Etching
    Dry Point Etching
    Eco Printing
    Eco Printing
    Eco Printing Process
    Embossing
    Envelopes
    Environment
    Environmentally Friendly
    Erin Zamrzla
    Fiona Dempster
    Flowers
    Folding Pen
    Gelli Printing
    Gemma Black
    Gestural Writing
    Gilding Cushion
    Gold Leaf
    Gourd Accordion Book
    Graphite
    Hexagons
    How To Eco Print
    Hyacinths
    Illuminated Letters
    Illumination
    Irene Wellington
    Japanese Stab Binding
    Jo Hollier
    Journal
    Keith Smith
    Kimberley
    Leaf Printing
    Leaf Printing
    Maps
    Marbled Paper
    Margaret Morgan
    Mari Ono
    Massimo Polello
    Medieval Binding
    Melbourne
    Michael Burke
    Millimetre Binding
    Neuland Script
    Olive Bull
    Onion Skin Binding
    Origami
    Papers
    Pastels
    Paste Papers
    Peter McLean
    Printing
    Quills
    Quilting
    Rosie
    Ruling Pen
    Secret Belgian Binding
    Sewing
    Sgraffito
    Slipcase
    Solomons-song
    Split-board-binding
    SSiW
    St Cuthbert's Gospel
    Stone
    Tsunokobako
    Tunnel Books
    Victorian Calligraphy Society
    Wallabies
    War On Waste
    Weathergrams
    Wedding
    Witches Broom
    Yves Leterme

    Archives

    February 2023
    April 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013





    Inspirational People,  Places & Blogs I follow

    A Letter A Week 2014
    Paper Ponderings 
    BEMbindery
    Gemma Black