pigments Archives - Botanical Colors

Sunday Visit: Natalie Stopka, Materiality & Multitudes

For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with our resident Lake Pigment expert Natalie Stopka to talk about her upcoming workshop with us! Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all our Sunday Visits HERE. What first sparked your interest into natural plant color? About 15 years ago I had the realization that instead of purchasing all the materials for a piece of art (an artist book in this case), I could … Read more

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Heidi Gustafson & Book Of Earth

On our last FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had Book of Earth author, artist and ochre translator, Heidi Gustafson. Heidi is based in the Cascade foothills of rural northern Washington. Her collaborative ochre and iron research projects include work with scientists, anthropologists, linguists, indigenous practioners, citizen foragers, healers, artists and places around the planet. Heidi’s current projects focus on ochre, iron oxides and land pigments and her cabin/studio houses the Ochre Sanctuary, a counsel of ochres and pigments from contributors world-wide. She also just published the most beautiful book ever called Book of Earth. Watch the recording below. Website Instagram About Heidi: … Read more

For World Water Day, 10 Ways to Natural Dye & Protect Land & Water

For World Water Day on March 22, 2023, we wanted to shine a light on two things very important to us: keeping carbon in the soil and protecting our water. As natural dyers, we have so many ways we can tackle these issues from collecting and reusing water creatively to simply stopping using hazardous pesticides as we grow our beautiful dye plants. We hope our pointing you towards World Water Day 2023 can offer easy that ways you can be part. This World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. And because water affects … Read more

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Beam Paints

Last week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY, we had Anong Beam of Beam Paints. Anong says her business is the result of a multi-generational love of pigment, paint, color, and innovation. “I was raised by my artist parents, Carl Beam and Ann Beam, and was taught from a young age how to harvest hematite pigment in the LaCloche mountain range near our home in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island.” Beam Paints draws on Anong’s early education in Indigenous pigment and expands it to encompass all paint traditions. She talked about the progression of her craft, her love of color, and more. … Read more

Video From Live FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Mushrooms + Textile Design With Ximena Curiel

Last week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY, we welcomed Ximena Curiel who told us a personal story about her path as an artist and all about her exciting work with mushrooms and textile design! Ximena Curiel is a Product designer with a MSc in Biomimicry currently performing field and laboratory research on fungal pigments. Ximena says since she was young, “she experienced the kindness of nature, while growing up in the jungles of southeast Mexico.” From first hand observations, she’s watched how ecosystems have degraded while her love for all living things lead her to nurture connections between biology and design. She … Read more

VIDEO From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Marta Abbott

Last week was our 100th episode of FEEDBACK FRIDAY and we welcomed Rome-based, Czech-American artist Marta Abbott. Marta uses “organic, botanical materials to extract and convey that which she finds essential to the human experience of nature and beauty. Marta does this through combing concept with intuition, elements of control with those of contained chaos, and with eyes scanning both earth and sky, seeking ways to interpret that which links the two.” Watch the recording here: Marta’s website Instagram In the Studio: Marta Abbott Shop our dye inks here! ARTIST STATEMENT Marta Alexandra Abbott is a Czech-American artist in Rome. … Read more

Video From FEEDBACK FRIDAY: The Art Of Soil

On our last FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had Karen Vaughan of The Art of Soil. Karen is a researcher, educator, and creative who is passionate about sharing soils knowledge and beauty with all who are open to receive. She is a pigment forager and paint maker as well as an associate professor of pedology at the University of Wyoming. Karen has long been fascinated by color – from the information we gather from color to the way it makes us feel and the unique connections we all have with color. Through the Art of Soil, she crafts watercolor paint made with … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Melonie Ancheta

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with pigment artist Melonie Ancheta. Melonie addressed what we can learn about cultures through the lens of pigments and what the study of pigments reveals about history and cultures. Watch the video recording here: Read Melonie’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY responses to all chat questions. About Melonie Ancheta has been studying pigments for more than 40 years, (traditional native pigments for more than 25), to analyze and properly identify pigments, and to assist museums, conservators, collectors, artists and scholars to determine the materials, tools and techniques used in traditional Native American paints. This information is used in … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Harvard’s Forbes Pigment Collection

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was with the Forbes Pigment Collection director Narayan Khandekar. Narayan is the director of Harvard’s Straus Center and the senior conservation scientist, who oversees the Forbes Pigment Collection. Watch the video recording here: The Forbes Pigment Collection is an assemblage of more than 2,700 pigments (and counting!)—is in active use by conservation scientists at the museums, who rely on the samples for testing and as reference materials in the analytical laboratory. For that reason, most of the collection can be glimpsed only from outside the glass-walled Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. Former Fogg Museum … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Wild Pigment Project

This week, we’ve got video from our live FEEDBACK FRIDAY featuring Wild Pigment Project. Here’s the Zoom recording: Wild Pigment Project supports the global art community to use pigments that reflect values of racial, economic, and ecological equity for all, by fostering a network of artists, foragers, designers, craftspersons, scientists, farmers, researchers, ecologists and others passionate about wild pigments. The project aspires to provide generous resources to facilitate learning about land stewardship through ethically gathered botanical, mineral and waste-stream-derived materials used to make paint, ink and dye. Head to Wild Pigment Project and enjoy Tilke’s site for so many resources … Read more