Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Heidi Gustafson

Last week on FEEDBACK FRIDAY we had 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.

Check out Heidi’s website here.

And follow her on Instagram here.

Watch the video recording below!

About Heidi’s work:

Ochre Sanctuary is an evolving, living place that serves to protect and care for ochre, ie. iron-based earth and pigment wisdom. It’s currently based in a tiny cabin in far north Cascade foothills of Nooksack territory, Washington, USA.

Counsel of ochres includes hundreds of rocks and dusts, across the color spectrum, gathered and offered by citizens around the planet, including spiritual and cultural ochres such as Kokowai from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and meaningful planetary ochres like GOE (Great Oxidation Event ) 2 billion+ years old goethite or wastewater vivianite from Taiwanese industrial plants.

Areas of focus

– Ochres from common, endangered, exhausted, sacred or other significant landscapes.
– Pigments, clays, soil, mud, sandstones and minerals of hematite, goethite, limonite, magnetite, maghemite, siderite, vivianite and other iron-rich minerals.
– Iron-based material from eroding or endangered regions, toxic waste sites, including banned countries and controversial regions.
– Ochres used and made by non-human beings including microbes, elephants and vultures.
– The study of ochre terms across languages.
– Ochre behavior, use, spiritual significance and futures.
– Support indigenous ochre knowledge, use and ancestral or ceremonial practices.
– Cross-cultural collaboration and connection through ochre and land exchange.

Join us this week, September 17th, 9am Pacific, 12pm Eastern for a live Zoom FEEDBACK FRIDAY with Botanical Printer Irit Dulman presenting from Tel Aviv, Israel. Irit’s exploration of eco printing is focused on stark prints and bold colors derived from nature. We love her monochromatic eco printing.

RSVP here.

FEEDBACK FRIDAY

If you are not familiar with FEEDBACK FRIDAY, every week, we speak with dyers, artists, scientists and scholars about our favorite topic, natural dyeing and color. Curated by Amy DuFault, Botanical Colors’ Sustainability Director and presented by Botanical Colors’ Founder Kathy Hattori.

We even have our own theme song thanks to musician Jimmie Snider (click here to hear more of his music)!