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I first tried this craft at an earth day celebration several years ago. We made bookmarks and pounded purple violets and yellow forsythia onto fabric. I loved seeing the flowers' colours and shapes transfer onto the fabric. One woman, I remember, wasn't so enamoured. "That's cruel to nature," she said, "Why are you doing this at a festival that honours the earth?" I digress. This year, I learned a name for this artform: hapa zome. There are many ways to do this, but what worked for us was to put a block of wood on the table, put fabric on top, then place leaves and flowers on it, followed by paper towel. Then hammer! And hammer! And get all the juices you can out of the plant. So much fun for any age. As long as you can wield a hammer, you can enjoy this craft. I'm thinking that some year, I'll make a quilt with blocks of flower-printed loveliness. Some year.  We used flowers and leaves that we could collect at this time of year: Japanese maple (beautiful red colour), pink apple blossoms, purple violets, yellow dandelions, green dandelion leaves and 3 leaf clovers. It was magical to watch the children open the paper towel to see what had been printed on the fabric.  Japanese maple and apple blossoms 
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April 2020
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We love this land where we play and learn: the sun that warms us, the trees that give us shade, beauty and places to climb. The plants that give us food. The creatures who teach us about how to live in a good way. Thank you to the bugs and turtles, the great blue herons and the tadpoles. To the fairy shrimp, the tree swallows, the pond snails, the newts. To the Jack-in-the-pulpits, the trout lilies, the goldenrod, the asters - all of you are so beautiful and teach us so much. To the water, which is life - the ponds, creeks and the Grand River watershed.
We are honoured to walk, learn, and play on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton Nations, treaty lands of the Haudenosaunee. Grateful for the ongoing care, stewardship, and teachings from Indigenous Peoples that help us walk gently on this earth. We are committed to the ongoing process of decolonization through partnering with local Indigenous educators in our facilitation, learning about the past and about good ways forward together, and respecting the land as our First Teacher.
We are honoured to walk, learn, and play on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton Nations, treaty lands of the Haudenosaunee. Grateful for the ongoing care, stewardship, and teachings from Indigenous Peoples that help us walk gently on this earth. We are committed to the ongoing process of decolonization through partnering with local Indigenous educators in our facilitation, learning about the past and about good ways forward together, and respecting the land as our First Teacher.
