Description
Ecoprinting on Leather
Learn how to ecoprint on leather naturally as well as in color! Students will put ecoprinting skills to work on lambskin and top grain leather! Ecoprinting (also known as botanical printing) involves collecting leaves, plants and flowers to imprint the plant images directly upon leather.
Students will learn:• Leather – What you need to know to understand, locate, select and work with leathers that accept ecoprinting no matter where you live!• Equipment – What you need and how to use it (most of which you already have!• Plants – All about plants, leaves, weeds, and flowers and using them on Leather• Mordants- Descriptions and ratios• Dyes – Easy-to-use selections for permanent results• Tools – Cross over tools many crafters already have for leather work.• Sources for leather, dyes and mordants and tools (in US and online)
Students Should Bring:
• Leaves from their area with emphasis on high tannin leaves such as oak, maples, rose,blackberry, hickory, sumac, and interesting weeds. Fun additional plants (usually storebought) are eucalyptus and colorful flowers such as daisy-type flowers. No thick plants.
• 1 roll paper towels
No prerequisites. Age limit: 16
Materials fee: $175
M Theresa Brown is a professional artist whose long art career embraces many areas of the Arts. She studied Commercial Art and Printmaking at East Carolina University and subsequent years of printmaking and graphic design work led her to explore the fiber arts. Using many similar skills and accumulated knowledge, She evolved as a hand painter, needle felter and ecoprinter on natural fibers. She uses natural dyes and low impact synthetic dyes and merges them into unique, beautiful designs on silk, wool, paper and leather. She turns her transformed work into artisanal clothing, accessories, and art. Her articles and designs in the fiber arts have appeared in international publications such as “No Serial Number”; and “Belle Armoire”.
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She has contributed articles and blogs for online publications and created many “How to” DVDs and eBooks in the visual arts in conjunction with the national art chain, Jerrysartarama. Her eBooks “Art Marketing Success Secrets” and “Single Mom’s Guide to Making Money as an artist” were published as audio books and she is often a guest speaker on art marketing for art organizations. She has a line of instructional PDF’s on ecoprinting techniques and is the first instructor to teach Ecoprinting on Leather in the US. She teaches in her studio and online and has been an instructor at many events and fiber art shows across the country including John C Campbell Folk School, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fest, Carolina Fiber Fest, Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival, Michigan Fiber Fest, Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest, Silk Painters International, Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance, Convergence at Handweavers Guild, Waterford Craft School and many private venues. She and her artist husband, Stephen Filarsky reside in rural NC with their alpacas, chickens and family dogs!
