Stacey’s hapa zome with clover, dandelions, grasses, berries and petals
Hapa Zome is the Japanese art of beating up leaves with hammers, pounding natural pigment into cloth. It was developed and named by India Flint who is a colour artist although she suggests that people have probably been pounding colours into cloth for centuries.
Hapa zome with dock leaves and primula
The skill level you need to start out with this creative springboard for this is pretty basic. If you can hit things with a hammer you can create beautiful works of art. As demonstrated by a two year old and his mum.
How to make Hapa Zome
To make hapa zome you need cotton fabric, different weights seem to all work equally well but you do get slightly different effects. The leaves and flowers that you choose make a difference to the effectiveness. Ones that are full of moisture produce the best results.
Spring crocus flowers
By folding the cloth in half with the leaf or petal inside you get a mirror image. Once the petal is under the cloth then it is a matter of gently pounding it with a mallet, hammer or even smooth rock. The surface underneath will come through so find a smooth surface to work on. It seems to appeal to all ages and genders equally, I’m sure this is something to do with the cathartic nature of hitting things with hammers!
Baby nettle leaves
This is amazing. I have never heard of this before and cannot wait to try it with my daughter. Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow, this is so beautiful. I’m going to try my hardest to archive this in my brain for the Spring. Thank you for sharing!
I love it – have done it with young children who also like to add a bit of mud to their creations :-)!
This is wonderful, there is something very special about creating delicate beauty with a hammer
I am an early years practitioner in a nursery school and having found this site I took my class of children out to local woodland and we all had a go at Hapa zomeWOW its one of the best activities I’ve ever done . Right now my son is sitting with my granddaughter and both are doing a hapa zome picture they are loving it and are both feeling very proud of the beautiful pictures they are making.
Lovely to hear. Thanks for sharing