Ecoprints

I was inspired to make some ecoprints the other day. It’s not hard but I’ve resisted this kind of project for awhile. It involves some equipment, which can seem like a hassle. In my current frame of mind, I saw a side benefit in revisiting that area of the linen closet and reorganizing and tidying it a little.

I use these heavy tiles to sandwich paper and plant material for printing. The sandwich is tied together with some twine which I’ve been reusing. It is almost unraveling but might be good for a few more uses.

I use a turkey roaster that I got for $5 at a yard sale down the street. It is not in pristine shape, but it does the job. There’s a temperature dial on the front, but I think there are only two workable settings – On and Off. Works for me! The smaller tiles fit into it, the larger pair has to be propped at a diagonal. Luckily for this project, the smaller ones worked just fine. I put two bricks on top to add to the pressure making the print and covered the tiles with hot water. I left it to cook quite awhile, a couple of hours. Then unplugged the roaster and left it overnight.

The next morning, there’s a lot of excitement to be had opening up the sandwich. The results look great with the plant material still on them! Unfortunately, I had to peel it off. The darkness around the edges is very attractive, I think. It comes from the excess plant material thrown into the water that seeps in around the edges of the pressed paper. I think this one is blueberry with grasses. The blueberry stalk is very hard and thick, not the best for the print. You can see it made a channel for the dark color to seep in.

This one is sweetfern, comptonia peregrina, one of my favorite plants. One side of its leaves prints a light green, the other side is light brown.

Here’s another one before I peeled off the plant material. The lady’s mantle leaves printed as a grayish blob, but the horsetail is very interesting, I think. Its thin strands contain a lot of minerals that print well. Horsetail strands can be very useful to give a grassy effect along the base of a print.

I thought the prints could be a bit darker, so I dunked each sheet into a water bath with a little iron/vinegar solution that I keep in the linen closet. The results!