Hi Friends,
I never could have imagined that when my parents had to move in with my family right after my Dad’s stroke, that this pandemic would have changed everything! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe.
My parents have just moved out and into an independent living community. Yes, they were allowed to move in during the COVID 19 stay at home orders. The community is not even a year old, at 40% capacity, with no virus anywhere. My parents need to be self-quarantined for 14 days, getting their temperature taken daily to ensure they aren’t carriers of the virus.
I haven’t touched any art supplies for a month and half! I knew I had to step in slowly!
I have been reading up on Eco Printing and I knew this would be a perfect first project! Here are my photos:
First up, I went on a nature scavenger hunt. This was the exact thing I needed to clear my head. My dog, Mocha, and I went on a walk and found interesting plants, leaves, and even a seed pod.
I dipped my watercolor paper in water and arranged each piece of nature on a sheet, separated with a deli sheet. Once they were all sandwiched together, I added a ceramic tile to the top and bottom and closed it shut with large binder clips. I had 4 binder clips but my seed pod was a little too thick for one side!
I then added the mordant to the bottom of an electric skillet and simmered away for 20 minutes. After letting it cool, I carefully unveiled my eco prints!
Now you might be wondering what I am going to do with these prints that really don’t look like anything! I’m going to cover them with Encaustic besswax, of course! These will definitely look different by the time I am done, but this was a perfect project to get me back into the creative zone.
What do you do when you need to get back to your creative zone?