Nature Printing: With Herbs, Fruits & Flowers

by Laura Donnelly Bethmann

Book Overview

Nature printing, or recreating images from the natural world, is a direct, inexpensive process with possibilities as varied as nature itself. Apply ink or paint to leaves, flowers, herbs, or fruit and print life-sized images onto paper, fabric, and other surfaces to create captivating works of art. In full-color, simple instructions, NATURE PRINTING covers tools, techniques, and tips for dozens of beautiful projects, including printed fabric for curtains,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580173764
• ISBN13: 9781580173766
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Storey Books
• Length: 90 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.2" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

This is the book I've been looking for!

Do you love nature? Do you have an artisic urge? Do you think creating art is difficult or expensive? If you love nature and want to bring it to your fabrics, walls, note cards, etc. then this book would surely delight you! The Victorians loved "capturing" nature in all its innocence, beauty, and comfort. They created so many wonderful collections, decorations, etc. This wonderful addition to the craft world shows the nature lover how to use nature to enhance the tranquility of your home or surroundings. The author shows you how to use an endless bounty from the natural world plus a few printing inks and paints to illustrate your world with the panorama of nature. The techniques within this volume are so enchanting yet simple enough for children to to accomplish as well. A wonderful way to enoy summer days!

Great for rubber stampers & paper artists, inspirational

This is a must have book for anyone who collects plants and other nature items. It is also a great find for rubber stampers and other paper artists. The book is in full-color and has many illustrations. The book starts out with a brief history of nature printing. It then details collecting, transporting, and pressing a wide variety of plants. Then paper & materials for printing and the printing process itself are discussed. Specialized techniques for printing objects such as spider webs, shells, feathers, gyotaku (fish rubbing), Taku-ga (rubbing picture), bubble printing & cyanotype are demonstrated as well. All the instructions are easy to follow.There are also many wonderful projects including fabric painting, wall printing & note cards. The resource guide is a nice bonus. This inexpensive craft is easy enough a child, yet rewarding for adults.

What a way to capture nature!!

This is the most amazing book! I love nature and wanted to find a way to tie that love into an art form. This is definitely THE book for my purposes. Very detailed and inspiring with wonderful instructions and visual examples. I can't wait to take my next watercolor class and try these techniques on my work!

My favorite Storey title!

Nature Printing is an enormously inspiring book. After reading it I grabbed paints, paper, and children and headed out into the backyard. We had a great time being creative and finding plants and bits of nature that had, until then, gone unnoticed. Some of the prints we created were surprisingly beautiful. It was a great learning experience and a whole lot of fun!

Create Art With No Training And No Talent

I have always wished I had artistic talent but I think my left brain has been atrophied since birth. My mother always said all my taste was in my mouth and she was right... I'm an excellent cook. Still, I wanted to create something pleasing to the eye, and this book has helped me to do just that. The hardest part about this project was looking for that elusive hammer to hang my beautiful art work on the wall. You know those crocheted toilet paper covers you were planing to make as Christmas presents for friends and family? Forget that! Nature prints are going to be the hot ticket item this year. Even the book alone would make a nice present for the artistically challenged. This book will take you step by easy step through the printing process. There are plenty of helpful tips and suggestions, and it is also beautifully illustrated. I think this would make a good project for children too. Exercise that left brain while they're still young