Studio Series: Chortitza Oak Leaves prints

Chortitza Oak leaves prints © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Happy days are here again: my printmaking class has resumed for the fall! I'm screen printing as usual, and I'm printing with found materials. My personal leaves of significance project continues in new ways. This summer I visited several Chortitza oak descendants (Quercus robur) here in Southern Ontario and gathered leaves: some to take rubbings from and some to print. To preserve the leaves, I soaked them in a glycerin, water, and surfactant concoction (1 part glycerin to two parts water, plus 3 to 4 drops of castile soap to act as a surfactant) for a week. Once the leaves were preserved, I inked some up with a brayer with black Akua ink and then ran them through a press. In the above photo, you'll see prints on abaca (a.k.a. tea bags), Japanese kozo paper, and old German book pages. My thanks to Christine Mauersberger for the idea to preserve the leaves and then print with them! In the near future, I plan to print with preserved mulberry leaves and birch leaves from the tree that shelters my late-brother's grave, although I'm certain that the birch leaves will be too fine to print with. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.