Perfect is a myth…

in a world of mass production, I wanted to do something different. Every piece of paper is dyed by me, often with materials from the property where I live. As Maggie Pate — the artisan from whom I first learned to naturally dye from — says “We honor nature and accept her unpredictability when we naturally dye.”

After the dye process, the ink is then applied by me, line after line. This results in inconsistent ink variations that I find quite charming and special. In addition to this, there may be very small ink smudges on the paper. Every print is different. Every print is not perfect. That’s what makes them special.

dye variations

dye variations happen for several reasons - the paper, the temperature of the dye and how they dry. Some variations are also intentional - sometimes leaving plant matter in the dye for a speckled effect, or allowing dye to concentrate or pool on one part of the paper, resulting in a darker paper. Below are examples of how variations may look:

ink variations

Hand inking every print means there are are inconsistencies in the way the ink is dispersed on paper. I love the way this looks and is one of the reason I continue to hand ink my plates. See examples of this below.