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Chelsea Physic Garden
The Lost Art of Nature PrintingWith Pia Östlund
Thursday 15 August 2013, 10.30am–2.30pm
10.30am Introductions & overview of the day.
10.40am A short talk introducing the history of nature printing and viewing of original and rare nature prints from the Garden’s collection.
11am Nature printing - practical session. Handing out of equipment and short demonstration. Start taking your own plant impressions guided by historical prints.
12.15pm Lunch
1pm Nature printing workshop continued. With design guidance and practical support available from Pia.
2.05pm Tidy up.
2.15pm Display of your best print.
2.30pm End of session
How to Take a Plant Impression
Materials:Fresh plants / Oil-based inks / Easy-wipe compound / Sheet of glass or perspex Rollers / Tweezers / Baking paper / Newspapers / Acid free tissue / Printmaking paper (hot pressed) / Masking tape / White spirits / Rags
1. Choose a fresh plant specimen.
2. Mix up the colour, adding not quite an equal amount of easy wipe compound to the amount of ink. This depends on the pigment and vary between colours.
3. Ink up a glass or perspex plate. Avoid using too much ink – the roller should not stick to the plate.
4. Tape down a sheet of baking paper and roll out an even layer of ink.
5. Consider your layout.
6. Fold the baking paper (ink sides facing each other) and sandwich the chosen plant inbetween.
7. With the tip of your fingers, rub the back of the baking paper until the plant is evenly covered with ink.
8. Using tweezers, carefully transfer the plant to your printing paper.
9. Place another sheet of paper on top of the plant. Press the paper down onto the plant, holding both in place, whilst rubbing the back of the paper until the plant has been copied.
10. Carefully remove the top sheet and peel off the plant.
11. If printing into a sketchbook, interleaf with acid free tissue until the print has dried.
The Lost Art of Nature Printing Chelsea Physic Garden, 2013. Pia Östlund, [email protected]
1. Nature print by Stephen Martin Leake (1702–1773) representing plants from his Garden in Mile End, London.
2. Beech leaves, nature printed by James Hardie for Thomas Hopkirk’s Flora Anomoia, 1817.
3. Fabio Colonna (1567–1640), a Neopolitan botanist, used nature printing as a reference for making etchings to illustrate his botanical works.
4. Title page to Botanica in Originali seu Herbarium vivum by Johann Hieronymous Kniphof (1704–1763).
5. Naturselbstdruck invented by Alois Auer (1813-1869) at the Imperial Printing Offices in Vienna, 1854.
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The Lost Art of Nature Printing Chelsea Physic Garden, 2013. Pia Östlund, [email protected]
