Paper Making and Natural Pigments: Finding and Growing Artist Materials

Part of our residency has included the use of a garden, so it's very satisfying to finally be able to use the flowers we grew. One of the experiments we tried was dyeing handmade paper with marigolds. Catherine Shapiro and Jenn Pearson both use natural materials in their work, but use very different approaches in their work. Catherine began the workshop by showing us some of the plant fibers she has used to make paper, like this banana hemp fiber.

 Catherine has been growing Japanese indigo in her garden, and has been nurturing a fascination for  the colours that this plant yields to dye paper and make paint.

Next, Catherine walked us through the steps of making a piece of paper. The paper made with the marigolds turned a beautiful light yellow-green.

She showed us examples of different handmade paper varying in thickness and texture.

And Catherine showed us examples of how she has used handmade paper, inks, and dyes in her work. For more details on this work--check out her artist talk on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GnWIU6c6WQ

Next, Jenn Pearson showed us the "juices" she's been making out of various local plants. She talked about the importance of keeping a record of experiments with natural colour, so you can repeat them in the future.
 

This is one of the Hopi sunflowers we grew for the seeds, which produce a black colour--a rare hue in natural dyes.

These are the colours Jenn was finding from cooking up the seeds and adding the chemicals to make paints: alum, soda ash and guar gum.

These are some of the flowers we grew for natural pigments. Coreopsis tinctoria is much loved by bees.

The flowers look lovely when they are pressed, and can be added on top of the paper pulp.

These are the dried marigold petals used to dye the paper pulp.

And here's what the coreopsis looks like without being pressed. It's also useful as a fabric dye.

Jenn told us how she loves to wander down back alleys and find material to make art. This pulp was made from some found shredded paper.

We were particularly interested in the blue colour she was getting from "rum cherries" found in a friend's yard.

 Finally, Jenn described a process she is working with: painting with paper pulp onto screens and making these unique pieces.

While Jenn and Catherine were presenting, a painted lady butterfly was sipping nectar in another dye plant: an orange zinnia flower. I'm feeling so grateful for plants that support insects and artists!