Hello! I am Tracy Born, this is how my journey to Echo Prints began...
I have always been a nature girl, enjoying learning about plants and animals since I was a child. When I was homeschooling my children, my interest in the natural world grew even more. I began collecting and pressing plants, keeping nature journals, writing down my observations alongside my children. For a time I was a volunteer naturalist at a local Audubon Society chapter, and enjoyed introducing more children to our local flora and fauna. Nowadays I keep a flower garden (I have finally come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be a veggie farmer;) and I host back yard nature clubs every summer, inviting neighborhood mamas and their children to join me.
“The sense of beauty comes from early contact with nature.”-Charlotte Mason
I enjoy learning about trees and flowers, leaves and blooms, and noticing when they appear each year. I am often jotting down notes of nature observations into nature journals. I also like to draw sketches of what I have newly observed, but am certainly not a remarkable nature artist, like Beatrix Potter, or John James Audubon.
When I first heard of the process known as eco printing, I became very excited to be able to capture impressions from nature in a whole new-to-me way! This process has enabled me to capture the essence of plant life so much more accurately than my drawings, and has been a rewarding way to share my appreciation of the natural world that God has made.
Over the course of the past year I have begun “keeping my flower garden” in a very special way, which I call Echo Printing.
“We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree…”-Charlotte Mason
My good friend, who is also my pastor, thought of the name “Echo Prints.” He said, “you’re echoing what God has done!” I loved it immediately, it fully captures the heart behind my crafting.
When people first see my cards they are usually very curious as to how they’re made. When I tell them that there is no painting involved in the making of the cards, they’re very surprised! Nature must first be collected, paper sourced, and envelopes purchased. The prints take a considerable amount of time to create, with the entire process taking two separate days. Also a big area of my small home! Pressed botanicals tied up with string, large pots set to boil, piles of colorful paper, drying stations.... it's quite a production but very exciting because each attempted print is an experiment and truly one of a kind. I suppose I enjoy the foraging part the most, although I don’t really need a tangible reason for a nature walk…
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” -John Muir
I’m thankful to have learned the eco print process, which provides this nature girl with the opportunity to produce an echo of God's handiwork, and to share those nature keepsakes with others.
I hope you enjoy the Echo Prints selections!