I just finished eco-printing a small collection of clothing for the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art’s museum store. Among the 20 pieces for sale there are caftan dresses hand-printed with various wildflowers and leaves. Pictured is a caftan with pecan, wisteria, and cosmos, which grow abundantly in my back yard and neighborhood.

Adding extra iron in the printing process brings out beautiful details in leaves that are rich in tannin, like pecan. I soaked this dress in a hand-made liquid mordant, and, as it hung to air-dry, I could see the color change from milky white to a light burnt orange. This oxidation process is the same as rust forming on an iron nail (don’t worry; I have safely washed the mordant off these fibers). The earthy background of this dress reminds me of drives through Arkansas into Mississippi, seeing so many iron-rich clay beds of the same hue.