Brazil · Textile Dyeing / Botanical Printing

Botanical Printing and Natural Dyeing with Brazilian Plants

Impressão botânica e tingimento natural (Portuguese); the pounding method is known by its Japanese name, tatakizome (叩き染め, 'pounded dyeing')

A contemporary studio practice in Brazil that colors and patterns cloth and paper with plants, using three related methods: pounding fresh flowers and leaves into the fabric with a hammer so that their pigments transfer as a one-off print (the Japanese tatakizome); contact printing, in which plant material is pressed against cloth; and immersion dyeing in plant baths, including natural indigo worked in a reduction vat on silk and tulle. What makes the Brazilian practice distinct is its palette of local and native plants: urucum (annatto) and golden onion skins for oranges; erva-mate for greens; jabuticaba and hibiscus for purples; pinhão (the seed of the Paraná pine), catuaba, cinnamon and avocado stone for pinks; barbatimão and guava bark for browns; anileira (indigo) for blues; eucalyptus for grays. Practitioners print clothing, lingerie, home textiles and Japanese paper, and teach the method in workshops in which participants print a garment of their own.

Risk level: Stable · Not inscribed

Alternate Names
Brazilian botanical printing; tingimento botânico; estamparia botânica; tatakizome (Brazil); flower pounding
Geographic Center
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (documented practitioner); contemporary botanical printing is practiced more widely in Brazil
Community / Ethnic Group
Contemporary textile artists and designers
Estimated Origin
Contemporary. Tatakizome comes from Japan, where it is widely taught today as a school, family and museum activity; claims that it is an ancient Japanese art are common online but unsourced. Its Brazilian practice is recent.
Cultural Function
Clothing and textiles colored with plants of the local landscape and season; a slow, plant-based alternative to synthetic dyes and prints
Primary Materials
Fresh flowers and leaves; barks, seeds, roots and fruit skins; natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk, tulle); Japanese paper
Primary Tools
Hammer or mallet (pounding); dye pots and an indigo reduction vat
Process Overview
Prepare and mordant the fiber → for tatakizome, arrange flowers and leaves, cover and hammer until the pigment transfers, then remove the plant matter → for immersion dyeing, extract color from barks, seeds, flowers or indigo and dye the cloth in the bath, layering indigo in repeated dips → dry and finish.
Traditional Applications
Not applicable: a contemporary practice
Contemporary Applications
Naturally dyed and printed clothing and lingerie; home textiles; artworks and monotypes on Japanese paper; site-specific installations; workshops
Notable Practitioners
Mônica Bergmann, artist and designer, creator of Costura Botânica, Rio Grande do Sul: botanical printing (including tatakizome), natural dyeing and natural indigo on clothing, lingerie, tulle and Japanese paper; tatakizome collection 'Memória Vegetal' for the home-textiles brand Estero Casa (2026); workshop 'Impressão Botânica: renovando afetos' at Instituto Ling, Porto Alegre.
Key References
Mônica Bergmann, 'Processos', https://www.monicabergmann.com/processos ; Estero Casa, Instagram, 'Memória Vegetal: Tatakizome por Mônica Bergmann para Estero Casa' (September 2026); Instituto Ling, Instagram, 'Oficina de Impressão Botânica: renovando afetos, com Mônica Bergmann'; Paulo Gasparotto, 'Tic-Tac' (Porto Alegre social column) on her presentation at Maria Quitéria
Verification Status
Desk-Researched

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