Hapa Zome is the Japanese art of beating leaves with hammers, pounding natural pigment into cloth. The beauty of “hapa zome” is that, although a simple process, there is a point of perfection to get the best print – not too much and not too little. This eco-conscious printing process is unique in the way it does not involve specialist equipment, chemicals and can be done within the natural environment using rocks, flowers and plants.

To make hapa zome you need cotton fabric, different weights seem to all work equally well but you do get slightly different effects. The leaves and flowers that you choose make a difference to the effectiveness. Ones that are full of moisture produce the best results.

Fold the cloth in half with the leaf or petal inside so you get a mirror image. Once the flowers / leaves are under the cloth then it is a matter of gently pounding it with a mallet, hammer or even smooth rock. The surface underneath will come through so find a smooth surface to work on. When you have finished beating with your hammer/rock lift up the cotton and peel back the beaten flowers/leaves to reveal the printed fabric.

You may wish to experiment with stitch e.g. stitching into the prints before or after the printing process or by simply stitching patches of printed fabric pieces together to form a patchwork.

• Artist : India Flint – Eco Dyeing

• Artist: Jenny Dean – Natural Dyes

• Process: Rust Dyeing

• Process: Shibori Dyeing

• Find out more about some of the natural dyeing and printing processes each of the artists India Flint and Jenny Dean use.

• Write down no more than five bullet points of information.

• Create a page in your sketchbook on one of these artists' works. Include pictures of their work, information about them and what you enjoy about their work.

• Choose one process either hapa zome, rust dyeing, or shibori, and make a response in your sketchbook with a full page showing some samples of your experiments and document what you liked/disliked about the process.