Last night I went to my last Paper Batik class at at the Lemon Street Gallery in Kenosha, and this time I brought along some nature prints I made, to use as a background for my batiks.

Starting at the top left, the ginko print, and the two tall hosta leaf prints are on rice paper.  However, the bottom left geranium leaf print, and the black hosta leaf print on the lower right are on my handmade paper. 

I usually don't apply a lot of pressure to my handmade paper, so it tends to be on the soft side (applying pressure to freshly made hmp compacts the fibers, making the paper stronger), so I was curious to see if my hmp could withstand the repeated coloring and waxing involved in batik. 

When I got to class, I applied alternating layers of colors and wax to the prints. Because the pieces needed to dry thoroughly before removing the wax, that still needs to be done.  I plan on showing you the results next week, and I can't wait to see how they turn out myself!

Have a great weekend!