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Botanical printing, a unique and creative technique, combines nature, ink, and a roller to produce stunning prints inspired by the natural world. It is a process that allows artists and enthusiasts to create beautiful designs using actual plant materials.

Botanical printing involves applying ink or dye to the surface of leaves, flowers, or other plant parts and then transferring their intricate patterns onto paper or fabric. The plant materials act as natural stamps or stencils, leaving behind their unique shapes and textures on the chosen medium.

One of the main advantages of using a gelli plate is its ability to create beautiful and intricate patterns with ease. The surface of the plate has a gel-like consistency, which allows for easy manipulation and control over the desired pattern or texture. Artists can experiment with different tools, such as stencils, brushes, or even found objects, to create interesting textures on the surface of the gelli plate to create visually interesting designs. These textures are then transferred onto paper when it is pressed onto the plate.

After dabbling with tie dying the tea bag paper treated with cyanotype chemicals and creating some interesting effects (see previous blog post on Cyanotype tie dye) my mind went into overdrive!  I researched and trawled google for techniques to try.  It's not as simple as just tie dying the paper as the effects are created  depending on where the sunlight can reach or not reach and in a heavily folded piece of shibori the only exposed surfaces would be the outsides and the majority would stay white. Here are a selection of the results I achieved this time.