Have you heard of Hapa-Zome?
Hapa-Zome is an incredible craft originating from the Japanese art of Tataki Zome. Tataki means to pound or hammer, and when applied to flowers this is where the magical art happens! A simple search on the internet will bring up incredibly inspiring creations, the method of pounding the leaves and flowers with the fabric brings the different botanical dyes to the fabric.
Want to try it at home? All you need is some cotton, we love using Calico, an assortment of flowers and leaves from your garden, a hard surface and either a hammer or palm sized rock!
We love this craft as it allows you to be as precise or messy as you like! You can either arrange your foraged leaves and flowers on half of the fabric to create a picture or scene. Or perhaps you are a messy artist? In that case just throw them on!
Fold the material in half so all the plants are covered, place on a hard surface such as a wooden block and get hammering! You will quickly see the dyes coming though, imprints forming or explosions of colour appearing!
Finally, open the fabric and peel away the leaves. Voila your Hapa-Zome or Tataki-Zome is complete! We would love to see your creations so be sure to tag us in any social media posts!
This craft is great for all ages and abilities, just to be sure you don’t hit any fingers and of course be mindful what species of plants you are collecting as some are toxic.