Paper is a natural surface for illustration, but when we began working on Paper Botanists we were amazed by the variety of techniques used to illustrate botanical specimens. Drawing, leaf pressing and painting immediately come to mind, as do the printing techniques of engraving, etching and block printing. Nature printing, running an inked leaf or petal through an etching press, however, was a revelation. Photography, usually taken for granted, was shown to be far more versatile than originally thought when used for sunprints, vandykes and cyanotype prints, as well as photograms. Paper Botanists includes both historical examples and our own creations to show the scope of botanical illustration.

In the completely different PatternPattern, we show how paper is the perfect vehicle for creating patterns by developing and repeating motifs. Most of the patterns included in the book were worked out geometrically, then drawn by hand.