Printing with Leaves

To celebrate autumn, we explored a unique type of printing with leaves. The multi-layered pattern that resulted is created using four different leaves. They are: Blue leaf (Adhatoda Vasica), Red leaf (Hibiscus), Black leaves (Green Gongura) and Yellow leaves (Krushnakamal, Passiflora, Incarnata). Each leaf creates an impressive two hundred ink impressions.

The process begins with washing and bleaching (an eco-friendly process) the handwoven kora (greige cotton without any wet processing) fabric. A pre-mordant process of simmering the textile for a period of time prepares the fabric to receive the dye. It is then dried in the sunlight. Meanwhile, printing ink is prepared with tamarind seed powder and water. The collected leaves are then individually printed onto the fabric in stages allowing each layer to dry. This process takes five days. The fabric is then washed multiple times, dried and finally ironed.

Six women worked exclusively on the specialized leaf printing. They are highly skilled in and take pride in this particular process. Each artist creates three meters per day. The end results in a unique piece of handmade art derived from nature.