eco print experiments

I have been experimenting with eco prints on watercolor paper and silk.  It is really fascinating!  First, I have been soaking the Arches watercolor paper (cold press)  in vinegar or pickle juice, as it had alum in it too. I have ordered some but in a pinch the pickle juice seemed to work fine.  While I was soaking the papers I collected windfall leaves, mostly eucalyptus, hollyhock blossoms and leaves and some liquid ambar as well. After the paper was thoroughly soaked I placed the leaves and flowers, layering one sheet of paper on top of another and then put the layers in between two pieces of cardboard. I secured it with string and made a tight "bundle" and put it in a pot to steam on top of the vegetable steamer.  I let them steam for about an hour and took them out.  I really love the results!  I have been also been playing with painting over the eco prints with watercolors.  I love the process of carving out some shapes and also "popping" some of the leaf shapes with a darker color.

Here is one of the eco prints that I went back and added some washes and carved out some shapes with paint.  I think I will put these on some colored backgrounds and make some cards.

More later on my adventures doing eco prints on silk and also my first attempts at using cotton. I will take them out of the bundles in the morning and see what surprises they bring!   That's really the most fun of this process, creating the bundles and letting them sit, then getting to "unveil" the results the next day or next week, depending on what type of bundle it is.