Rust Dyeing

I’ve made rust paper before but always ended up with papers that had really defined images from the rusty objects I used. When I used them as collage papers they were too representational and took my attention from the rest of the piece.  This time, I was determined to capture the color, but not the rusty object form.

First, a disclaimer, as I am not a careful artist who measures and records exactly what I’m doing. I’m not even sure I could ever replicate this process. I hope I can because the papers are amazing.

This all began because I had left my rust water bin outside and all the water and vinegar had evaporated. I was left with this gorgeous layer of rust. I’m using a plastic masonry tub that is one of my favorite art supplies. I use it for lots of projects, although I might need a new one after all this rust has settled for good.

I took out all the tools and steel wool and had an abstract painting.

I added more water and vinegar and stirred it all in. Then, before I started adding papers, I decided to really push this experiment. I’d been saving espresso grounds for a few days and had a small yogurt pot full of very finely ground coffee. I added this to the mix and gave it another stir. 

Next, I started adding the paper. Instead of just using book pages, I raided my stash and added a wide assortment. Brown kraft paper, a large sheet of mystery paper, super-thin copy paper, drawing paper, and book pages. 

I’d add a layer of paper to the water and then gently push it down with the vinegar bottle. This meant that I wasn’t soaking the papers, but instead encouraging some pattern and movement. I was really hoping to see the circles stay on the paper. I did this until I was out of paper. 

I was afraid that the papers would blow away, so I weighed down the top layer and the edges with my rusty objects and some steel wool. Then I left it in the shade and ignored it for the rest of the day. 

The papers were filthy when I took them out that night. I stacked them on the patio table and let them drip for a few hours before banishing them to the basement where they took several days to dry out.

I was super happy with how they looked. The rust and coffee settled into the paper with abstract waves of motion. I even got a few of the circular patterns that I’d hoped for. In a few places, I can see the circles from the vinegar bottle.

The only slight problem was the espresso grounds, which coated every sheet with dusty bits. I took them back outside and dusted them off, which mostly worked. The thin papers refused to give up all the coffee, but that just means I’ll have some nice smelling papers to work with. Next time, I won’t use such fine ground or I’ll make a dye bath with them first and strain out the coffee before I add it to the rust water. 

I took some of the papers and added some marks with white gesso. These were used to create this collage. I love how one dye bath created such a variety of colors and patterns. I’m calling this experiment a success!

If you give this process a try, let me know how it goes!