What's the best way to store flowers for winter Ecoprinting? In North Carolina, Fall is arriving. It's easy to procrastinate when it comes to collecting and saving those all important leaves and plants for the months when there is nothing available! In a previous blog, I shared how I collect and store leaves.
So what about flowers? Now is a good time to collect those flowers that only bloom in the fall!
The beauty and challenge in Ecoprinting is that your main ingredients, foliage, is prone to the seasons and whimsies of Mother Nature. Many wildflower only bloom for a few weeks, whereas others might bloom for a few months. In my long experience, the flowers that do best and leave the best flower print are "daisy" type flowers. They can be stored and used at a later date or purchased fresh at grocery and florists. Their iconic flower shape gives a nice impression on silk, wool and leather! You can also get nice prints on cellulose fibers.
The back roads are full of the most abundant fall colors which tend to be yellows and purples. Don't be greedy! Only take what you think you will need! Leave plenty for the insects and fall traveling birds.
Enlisting the help of family members (2 and 4 legged) is also a way to get out and enjoy Nature's gifts! In the image below, hubby cut flowers while I held onto 3 excited dogs! Once you have an armload of flowers, how do you store them for future use?
It took me awhile to fall into the practice of a using a "Flower Press." They don't have to be fancy but the model below is very basic and I simply tighten it down using velcro straps.
The other popular one is made with 4 screws with nuts that you tighten as needed. Personally I find the strap method more convenient.
For both kinds I keep it simple! I lay my flower heads down between sheets of 100% rag paper. It helps absorb any moisture and keeps the flower heads from rotting (as would happen on plastics)
In my workshops and my studio, I keep a rubber or fiberglass mallet that I use to flatten fresh flower heads when I am ecoprinting. A good solid "Thwack!" usually does the trick! But your pressed, dried flowers will already be flat and ready for use.
Initially I layer the flower heads between the papers and set weights on them before transferring them to the press for later use. They will shrink a little as they dry but then I carefully transfer the paper making sure the paper size is slightly smaller than the wood press. Obviously you save a step or two by having the press ready for your flowers but I am not always that organized!
So about now, some people may wonder "why not just skip all this and buy from a florist or grocer?" Most traditional bouquets contain basic flowers-most of which are not in an average bouquet such as Pansies and Impatiens. Fall mums are also good choices and not usually found in the average flower bouquet.
Daisies can be found year round. Many of my students pick them up in store bought bouquets and do not realize that many have been dyed! No matter as the results can be fun!
Most wild flowers are seasonal. I have a pasture where wild daises bloom for about 3 weeks in the spring only. And after them, pop up some yellow "buttercup" type flowers with small daisy type blooms. My choice is to either press them or use them right away as they are only blooming for a short period.
In the collage image below, you can see the results of the pasture daisies on leather :-)
Below are a series of images where flowers brought into the studio-both fresh and dried.
In the end it is about what you want to do with your flowers and how will you accomplish that? Keep it simple! If you cannot locate rag paper (at most art stores) use watercolor paper or even paper towels if that is all you have! You do not have to soak your flower heads when it comes time to print. I have found that moisture from your damp scarf, a dye blanket or nearby mordanted leaves will soften it enough to print fine.
Above all, experiment! So many newcomers are looking for definitive answers! But Ecoprinting is one of the art forms where you have to simply "let things happen" and enjoy the journey!
Until next time-
Theresa