Science, Art or Magic?

There is a great attempt to explain the similarities

and differences between art and science in this 2016

article which appeared in Forbes.

But couldn't we just accept as fact 

that certain things are best explained by

 MAGIC?

Last fall I played with eco-dying and enjoyed making prints on paper from the leaves I collected on my hikes.  I turned these sheets into covers for notecards and happily sold every one that I made.  But there was a fair amount of "slippage," those attempts that failed, misprinted, didn't make color or for some reasons became a page that fell short of artistic use.

So this year I decided to dive deep into scientific research conducting various experiments and recording my findings.  So out of my nature! But let's eliminate the misprints, ok?

I set up 3 different mordants (the liquid soak that prepares the fibers to accept the color) labeling them and giving each test paper the same amount of soak time.

I divided my leaves by types and included a few I'd never tried. (Not all botanticals will leave a visible print with this steaming method.) Oak was always a challenge but I decided to include it in my attempts.

Three different mordants, 2 kinds of cotton paper, several leaf types (pressed previously), a steaming pot outside and I was in business, er, science lab mode.  

Wow!  Look at that oak, that geranium, that batista and those maples...on a roll: sumac, sassafras and beech.  Dump the vinegar soak, eliminate the ammonia...I was ready to rock the next day with 100% success.  Papers prepped I went to bed exhausted but smiling for the success to come.

I was rewarded, above.

I was disappointed, above.

I was confounded, above.

None of these are ghost prints, the print bleeding through the paper or the mark left by the "top" of the leaf (best prints come from "ground side down" on the paper). And not an oak to be seen.  Whaaaa?

So I made adjustments in pressure (the vise or stones or blocks that hold the bundles tightly together). I varied the timing of the "cool." I stood on one foot and I sang out loud.  Everything STILL came out in about the same ratio of great : good : blah.  

My conclusion? MAGIC.

I did not record where I found each leaf, the soil conditions it grew in, the altitude it lived in...in my heart I know that these are all contributing factors to whatever hides deep within the tannins et al that leave the mark I covet.  I'm not that into research.  And frankly I like the fact that there is a part of this that I cannot control, it makes opening the steamed bundles quite exciting.  Some phenonmena can be explained and some things are best left to magic.  

I rest my case.

MAGICALLY IN AWE,

Cindy

Eco-dyeing with Fall Leaves

 Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. 

Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. 

Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, 

So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. 

Robert Frost

Nothing gold can stay.....unless you capture the image!  Autumn gives us all a thrill and I knew I could preserve some of it when I was seduced by eco-printing.  My friend Barbara must take full blame for my obsession with this technique as she wore the first scarf I ever saw done this way and I pestered her until she revealed the secrets.

I have posted some note cards I made using a similar process but several readers have asked me to do a blog and explain more!  I will do so now. Keep in mind that I am far from an expert but that with an adventurers spirit anyone can give it a try.  If you take a notion to try please reference "eco-dying" or "steam printing leaves" on google or pinterest.  You will get lots of helpful info.

Gathering the leaves, foraging, is the fun part although it is trial and error as to what will print.  Wool and silk (proteins) are most easily printed after mordanting with an alum mix that is dependent on the amount of fabric you soak.  This was a fun way for me to learn my leaves and trees and the most dependable in western NC are sumac, sassafras, beech, alder, japanese maple, sugar maple (actually almost any maple), geranium, red cabbage leaves, marigold petals and rose leaves.  Oak was a bust for this experiment.  

After the mordanting process we stretched out the wet silk and arranged the leaves, "earth side down," on top.  Sometimes we just scattered, other times I tried to intentionally make a design.

two silk undershirts

Then the fabric and leaves get rolled tightly around (for us) a PVC pipe or a length of branch.  This is secured with a tightly wound string.  Now processes take a twist.  Barbara's instructor seals the bundle in shrink wrap which is really cool.  My notes never indicated that as necessary so I skipped it.

sorry no pics of using the shrink wrap

Now if you have an electric turkey roaster that you can dedicate ONLY to dyeing drag it out.  I, on the other hand, jerry-rigged a steamer with an old covered roaster, glass jars to lift the fabrics and a hot plate to heat it all up.  Again, methods differ: immersion dyers set the entire bundle in the water, steam dyers prop it up out of contact with the bath.  I have done both and see very little difference.  

my pseudo-electric roaster without lid

Heat it up to a good steaming and....again, methods differ: if wrapped in shrink plastic steam it good for one hour; I have done the 2 hour method.  Some artisans swear you should leave and open in the morning (which I do with my paper prints), others urge opening as soon as cool to the touch (which is really fun if you are impatient like me).  

unrolled shirt with leaves still on it

Everything I read however does agree on one thing: do not rinse or wash your fabric for at least 48 hours after unrolling.  I have never done otherwise so I cannot say with any certainty that the print will disappear if you wash sooner.  Why risk it?

silk scarf drying

Since I like to use silk products I noticed that they seem to lose the "hand" after this process (the soft, draped feel of silk) and I discovered a product called Milsoft NB.  Used as directions suggest in a final rinse restores the gorgeous fabric to its original texture.  I buy most of my scarves and shirts from Dharma on-line.

So what do you think my precious daughters-in-law will say when they get these for Christmas?

Probably "yuck!" It is an acquired taste....but hey, these are undershirts, right? no one ever has to really see them and yet those sweet gals will be all warm and comfy.  Or if they take up deer hunting they will have their camouflage ready to go.  

I'm thanking Barbara over and over again for opening this magic window for me.

However you celebrated Thanksgiving I know that you had much for which to be grateful. Wishing you creative weeks ahead.

Foraging for Color,

Cindy