Although she had been making art in all various shapes, forms, and media since high school, Carolyn Maul only came across the process of Eco-printing in the Fall of 2021. After seeing how Eco-printing looked on fabric, she became curious about how to create the same effect on paper. Carolyn has a professional art background in painting and freeform art quilting, and both of those aspects can be seen in her Eco-prints as well. Much like quilting, which she learned how to do when her older children were little, Eco-printing is time consuming, messy, and continually evolving which gives life some excitement when you are home with small children. Carolyn had her third child last February and they love finding the leaves and flowers you see in her art together.

In this current exhibit at the Amherst Town Library, Carolyn has included a condensed collection of her traveling exhibit “Two Sides to Every Story”. Two Sides has accompanying dialogue about the healthy as well as the sometimes unhealthy nature of relationships and interpersonal communication.

But wait, what IS Eco-printing?? Eco-printing is a technique where plants, leaves and flowers leave their shape, color, and marks on fabric or paper. After soaking watercolor paper in an alum solution overnight, Carolyn takes plant material and bundles it inside of the papers, then they are steamed or boiled for an hour or more to release the dyes and tannins found naturally inside the plant, creating a contact print in the shape of the leaf or flower used. Sometimes she rolls these papers around rusty cans or metal pipes which causes the iron and copper to oxidize the organic material and produce darker colors. Her “dark and moody” work. This is why every Eco-print you will ever see is One-Of-A-Kind…Just like you, every single plant and leaf is different, and the combinations used are different every time.

Currently Carolyn lives in Hollis, NH, and the plants you see in this exhibit are all from the Hollis area, mostly from her property where she has her home studio. She has Open Studio days occasionally when you can come in and see how Eco-printing actually happens. Keep track of her Open Studio days as well as workshops and seminars on her social media and her website:

• www.carolynmaulstudioart.com
• Instagram @CarolynMaul
• www.facebook.com/carolyn.maul.5
• She is also a frequent contributor at Hollis Arts Society’s Gallery on West Pearl in downtown Nashua and a vendor in Boston’s SOWA Open Market during the summer. 

Sponsored by the Friends of the Amherst Library, a reception to celebrate the monthly artist on display.

In-Person Program. No Registration Required.