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P. Brown has been a creative artist for many years and enjoys the inspiration of art. Her work can be seen in many mediums: from pastel, watercolor, mixed, fiber and more. She was born and raised in Ohio and lives there with her family. Being educated in the arts, she has always had a passion to share it with others and truly feels faith and family is where her inspiration comes from. Patty’s vivid art pieces have been admired by many across the United States, where it has been won awards in a number of juried art shows. Current projects involve nature, sectional architecture as well as abstract and recycled art.

Creating Botanical Prints at Terradise

It has been a true pleasure to let Terradise Nature Center inspire my next artistic journey in expressing my creativity. By using various methods and experimental processes I am encouraged to step outside the box and add a new twist to my art by using what nature provides to enhance the paper with its beauty.

I let the spring beauty that was emerging to fuel my experimental approach on using botanicals to not only print the paper but also leave impressions and dyes as well. This was a new adventure for me so there was a lot of trial and error as well as trying my own ideas. I knew That plants, leaves, and trees contained different substances that would react to different papers and wondered if I used other variants like steam, vinegar and rusty water if that would lead to a different outcome as well. So now I sat out to start my journey to explore and create.

I looked at various types of paper and their absorption ability as well as if I could later apply medium to enhance it even more. Some of the papers I tested were bamboo, watercolor, fiber, mulberry, and unknown scraps. Even as anxious as I was to start, I decided my first step was to take a trip to the place that started my inspiration (Terradise Nature Center). In my first few visits Spring was just beginning to emerge. So with that thought I began my process  with dry plants and leaves soaked in hot water to hopefully let their tint emerge. I made sure the watercolor paper was moist as well. Applying pressure to the leaves and paper in hopes it would stain the paper. The success was not as I had hoped it would be, but I was not going to give up. Next I tried more fiberous paper and different solutions to moisten it, then bundled it and applied steam in a well ventilated area. It was a better result in printing and indenting.

As you can see in the upcoming images one is of the watercolor paper and natural materials pressed in layers. Applying a heavy marble slab to weigh it down for several days. The other image was the use of more fiberous paper layered with natural materials then rolled onto a copper pipe and bound with twine prior to steaming it outside in a well ventilated safe area.  

Soaked leaves, moistened paper were tried layered, bundled and steamed outside as before in a safe well ventilated area. Another experiment was the use of watercolor paper sprayed with rusty water and plants layered between the paper and pressed for a few days.

An attempt using fresh plant material layered between papers and then pounding the papers with a soft mallet then applying pressure with weights for a few days. This you will notice in the image on the left. The image on the right top was applied walnut ink and watercolor paint to fresh and dried leaves then pressed onto paper. Bottom right image consists of dried flower petals, logwood and cochineal on moist fiber paper. Pounded, bundled and left for a few days before unrolling.

Trying many methods and all with different outcomes. From encasing some flowers onto the paper after the color from flowers had dyed parts of the paper to pressing fresh coleus leaves and watching color extract from the leaves naturally.

A wide variety of botanical printing was achieved.

With the inspiration received during my visits to Terradise Nature Center I was able to add art to my botanical prints to have a few completed projects and some in process. 

With so many possibilities before me after my botanical printing residence at Terreadise there is so much yet to be explored. Once again Terradise has left me with such a wonderful experience and opened my eyes to explore new ways to create art. I am not sure how archival these methods will be but maybe we need to embrace the beauty of this art while it’s here and inspire others as well.

Brown (2025)