Marie Williams:
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I predominantly use locally sourced plants, especially leaves and flowers from my garden in Whakapara to eco-print or contact print creating unique and natural works of art.
The colours left on the textile or paper are the natural tannins, pigments or colourants that are in each botanical.
This artwork allows me to combine my love for nature, gardening and working with fabrics.
It’s become a wonderful way of using all my garden prunings, autumn leaf fall, and seed heads etc. Just when I worry that a certain flower has finished, a useful ‘weed’ pops up or early autumn colouring appears, so there is a sense of flowing or moving with the seasons that is captured in the prints.
The process of eco-printing is exciting as the end result is very much in the hands of mother nature. I have also taught myself the craft of book binding and particularly love using the coptic stitch method. My paper prints are bound into beautiful journals and books.
My background is in clothing design and retail. Having had my own label and boutique. My interest in fabrics has always been the key to what developed style wise, so now as Natural Expressions, to be printing the fabric and then combining this with designing and sewing the garments and bags etc is amazing.
To be able to create such a diversity of prints from nature, on natural fibres, and to be able to share that joy with you is wonderful, whether it’s something you wear or have in your home.
