What is Eco Printing?
This week’s Artist Date lead me to Bricolage Press in Vallejo, CA for an eco-printing workshop. Eco -printing is a form of natural dyeing. Dyeing or color transfer with natural products like food (tea), plants (flowers, leaves) or food waste (coffee grounds, avocado skins, onion skins).
I’ve aspired to natural dye, but haven’t accumulated all the materials for it. The answer to this was signing up for an eco printing workshop! I love creative workshops and have linked some of the other ones I’ve attended at the bottom of the post!
Meeting other creative people makes my heart skip a beat. Monica is the owner and printing master of various forms! She is kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and generous. Her studio is also a DREAM overflowing with ideas and thoughtful touches everywhere. I made a personal note to myself about how I need to have my own studio one day…
Brico Workshop Experience
The workshop came with a light breakfast, two scarves you were able to take home, and leaving feeling awesome that you created something you’ve always wanted to create! You are walked through scouring the fabric and the different mordants. We used iron and copper for this class because it was the Winter dying class and the heavy metals have a darker color transfer.
The process was surprisingly quick. Monica was kind enough to do a lot of prep work for us. She had fabric that was ready to go and a hot pot at the right temperature going, so we just had to design and enjoy the process. She did a full demonstration and then we were left to create.
A background in food styling and studying composition for photography was incredibly helpful to know where to start. I knew I already liked simple clean designs and could lay things out in an aesthetically pleasing way.
I just photos of some of the steps we did: designing, rolling, and tying.
After you tie your bundle, it goes into a hot water bath. You unwrap your scarf, compost the leaves and flowers you used and voila! You have yourself an eco-printed silk scarf!
Before and Afters:
Conclusion
You can see the colors looks a bit different in the final product. The heavy metals result in a darker look. I’m partial to bright vibrant colors, but it makes sense for a winter eco printing workshop. I’m very happy with the results of my first time doing eco-printing at the Bricolage Press! I can’t wait to take more workshops and to create more beautiful things!
Monica also sells scarves and ribbons she’s made in her shop. So, please visit her or get on her email list for future workshops!
[…] We are all connected, this community of creatives and creators. ( I met Meghan Wright through Meghan Russell of Poppy and Oak. I found out about Justina at Araceli Farms through Meghan Wright. ) We all support and promote each other because we’re all rooting for each other’s success. We understand we come from people that are not only geographically similar but similarly minded in our pursuit to make something to share with others. That’s why I went to The Dixon Florist to get bundles from Araceli for this shoot and support all other creative’s classes. […]