Tataki Zome

The Japanese art of flower pounding

With Lauren Fry, Arts Educator

Tataki Zome is the Japanese art of transferring botanical dyes from flowers and leaves onto fabric by simply hammering them onto the surface. This fantastic flora craft combines beautiful blooms, stress relief, and unexpected results — a perfect combo for a sunny afternoon of creativity.

Regular readers and their mini makers will know that I am a big fan of process art — letting young minds explore and experiment with art materials and techniques without a predetermined outcome, an artistic adventure to an unknown destination. The process of flower hammering is free from rules and strict guidelines; it encourages trial and error.

I started my botanical experiment with a bunch of spring blooms that had been brightening my home. However, you could venture out into nature and pick some wild flowers of your own; just remember to only pick flowers that are growing wild and not to uproot the whole plant.

If all that flora and colour wasn’t enough to get you picking posies, this Japanese art form includes the pleasure of pounding the flowers and leaves with a hammer. What better way to release some stress and let go of some tension than with this botanical beauty of a make?

Materials:

Flowers and leaves

White cotton/linen fabric or Watercolour paper

Hammer

Kitchen roll/tracing paper (optional)

Find out more about Lauren’s illustration work at studiowren.co.uk or follow her on Instagram @studio_wren

For my foray into Tataki Zome, I used a bunch of spring flowers and white cotton napkins to explore two different styles and outcomes:

Pattern and Composition: thoughtfully arrange leaves and single petals across the surface of the napkin, cover them carefully with a sheet of kitchen roll, and then lightly hammer the whole surface. You can take the occasional peek to judge how hard you need to hammer to get your desired result. Peel away the botanical material and leave to dry.

The Maximalist Approach: haphazardly pile whole blooms and leaves in an abstract way before laying tracing paper over the top and hammering. The tracing paper allows you to watch the magic happen.

Tataki Zome Top Tips

• Single petals will give a more defined shape and darker colour; whole blooms release more liquid and allow colours to blur and blend.

• The coloured dyes released from the petals and leaves may not be as you expect, this is part of the magic of Tataki Zome, embracing the unknown.

• If you do not have any fabric available, try using a heavy watercolour paper that will absorb the floral dyes.

• If you are printing onto a napkin, t-shirt, or scrap of fabric why not fold the fabric over the botanicals to double your print?

Your patterns and prints will fade over time and are not waterproof however ironing them once dry will help prolong their vibrancy.