As promised in my last blog post, today I’m going to share with you a simple and fun art tutorial to create shibori-style textures and artworks using materials you probably have in your kitchen cupboard!

You will need:

• watercolour paper, the heavier the better. I suggest at least 200-300gsm, a rough or cold pressed paper will work well for this activity
• blue watercolour ink or my absolute favourite blue paint… blue food colour!
• a white candle and/or a white crayon
• a large brush like a mop brush, you want something that will hold a lot of water and is big
• optional: salt

First of all gather some inspiration – you can google ‘shibori patterns’ to get some ideas.

Then draw the pattern or shapes you like with the white candle or white crayon. Whatever you draw will stay white. Make sure your drawing covers the entire watercolour page, i.e. don’t leave any large areas blank as they will be a solid blue when you finish.

Next, simply paint over the entire page with the blue watercolour or blue food colour. You can use the blue food colour straight from the bottle, or you can make a lighter blue by diluting it slightly with water.

Extra option: sprinkle some salt onto the wet watercolour paint, as the salt dries it leaves a sparkly white patch – the smaller salt crystals leave a smaller white patch and vice versa.

Let the paper dry and voila – you have a shibori effect artwork! If you have used salt, you just brush it off once the paint is completely dry.

Have fun and experiment with lots of different patterns, change the strength of the blue paint, and try with or without salt.

For extra fun try using different coloured crayons and watercolour paints – this will be more colourful than the traditional shibori look but can be quite effective especially if you use opposing colours like blue and yellow/orange.

You can use your completed shibori artworks in lots of ways:

• to create gift or greeting cards
• as boho coastal artworks to hang
• scan and turn into a pattern design
• use in paper collage

Have you tried this technique before? What did you think?