This is the final catch-up installment of last summer's prints. We've had an extra-snowy and cold winter here in Pittsburgh, PA, and I was not inspired to make any cold weather prints as I've done in the past. But the snow is finally (almost) melted, and sunny days are in the forecast, so I hope to start up printmaking again soon.
These are prints from the hot and heady ddays of August. I used some more of the ubiquitous and invasive Japanese knowtweed, along with mulberry branches.
The chemicals are a mix of cyanotype and Solarfast solar dyes.
I use these chemicals in non-traditional ways, and am pleased with how I've been able to dial in my experiments to a place where I can sort of have a handle on this unpredictable process.
I've been using white mulberry leaves for years to make prints. The tree was brought here originally to feed silk worms for the domestic silk industry, and quickly escaped cultivation. It's often found colonizing disturbed ground. There are three separate leaf shapes all on the same branches, so it's a lot of fun to print from.
Last summer, however, I discovered a small stand of native red mulberry trees. They are similar, but boast much larger leaves. I have a small child's pleasure at large leaves of all types, so this was a particular thrill for me.
Here is this batch of prints after exposure but before being rinsed out and finished.
This is the white mulberry:
More knotweed:
Still more knotweed:
And some fabulous red mulberry. All of these panels are about 4ft. x 2ft., to give you a sense of scale,
Here are the finished prints.
I am so very happy with how they turned out.
Knotweed is a disaster of an invasive plant, but it makes great prints.
Big excitement over the red mulberry prints!
Onward and upward in the March sunshine.
A reminder that you can also follow on your platform of choice:
3 comments:
Love it! I can't wait to try it.
What a way to welcome spring! Thank you for sharing these beauties. Your genuine excitement for the entire process, as well as the undeniable success of the finished prints, is a tonic to those of us who have had quite enough of winter. WonderfuL!
Wow! These prints can keep you busy for quite some time! Love the mulberry prints. A very seductive shape! Happy Spring Sue!
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