Printing with plants by Chloé K.



I've been working with plants - leaves, flowers and roots - for over thirty years. Either as a photographic subject, or as the raw material for my creations. My main source of inspiration is my garden of wild grasses.

Sometimes, during my daily strolls, I find them along the paths I walk along.

Among other things, I use them in inked prints. Profits from sales of these creations are entirely donated to shelters or sanctuaries.

 

 

For the prints, you need freshly picked leaves or flowers. The more veins the leaf has, the more surprising the result. I like to work with sage or viburnum leaves, whose trace leaves remarkably detailed patterns.

 

  

This spring, I also used daffodils and tulips from the garden. I ink them using ink rollers, on both sides of the plant used. I work mainly with Charbonnel aqua wash inks.

 

 

I use two to four different inking plates, because I like the play of nuances that the inks allow me to give to my prints. Sometimes I use a monochrome, but that's rarer.

 

When the plant is ready, I place it on my support, which can range from dense 300g/m² watercolor paper to recycled sheets. I like to work with pages from old books I've salvaged, or sheet music. The format will depend on the leaf or flower to be printed, and on my desires.

 

 

To be able to produce fairly large monotypes, I bought an A3-size linocut press from RITUALIS PRESS, which is portable, robust, easy to use and very practical. I work in my studio room, with the lino press on a large stool. On the plant to be printed, I add another paper, which can be the same as the base paper, but it's not compulsory. Once the leaf or flower has been delicately placed between the two papers, I manually press it for a few seconds.

 

 

The result is always a surprise for me. I love delicately removing the top paper and discovering the interplay of inks, plants and pressure.

The possibilities are endless, depending on my inspiration.

Chloé K.

PS: You can see Chloé's creation on website: www.chloeka.com or Instagram page.