"Everybody" is ecodyeing paper these days. Despite the fact that I usually prefer not to do things everybody else is doing, the desire to try it was just too strong for me to resist, given that I've got all the materials at hand.
These are the results of my first attempt. The first four paper images are of 140# watercolor paper. I love how the paper absorbed color and how intact the paper is after being steeped for over two hours. The leaf prints themselves, though, leave a lot to be desired. Mostly these are rust prints.
The last image on paper is 80# drawing paper, which also did remarkably well under the circumstances although the finished paper is wavier than the heavier paper. The prints are rose leaves
without rusty objects.
And the fabric in the first image is two small pieces of silk broadcloth (from a recycled dress) and eucalyptus leaves on a rusty pipe. The golden color is especially pleasing to me ~ possibly it derives from the tea bags I threw in the steeping pot. Or possibly it's that the fabric is silk whereas the paper isn't. Or maybe it's because the silk was mordanted even though it doesn't need to be, or maybe because the mordanting was done nearly a year ago. So many variables.
But I was inspired enough (and my stash of ecodyed fabric has dwindled enough) to cook up a huge pot of fabric bundles yesterday, which are now sitting in a covered place outside to dry -- although it is pouring rain at the moment. I'll post photos of these next week sometime.
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