Honoring Nature's Colors—An Interview about Natural Earth Pigments
Recently, I was asked to share my thoughts on pigments in my work in the format of eight beautiful questions. Sharing an exchange of thoughts with Ginni Seehagel of Seadar Shop, an artist, writer, and walker who seeks and finds joy in the world as it is, was a gift of light and appreciation for the Earth.
1) Why do you use natural colour in your work?
I felt a specific inspiration from the landscape and I wanted to translate these spaces in my artwork. Natural color was a part of that story, a detail that couldn’t be overlooked or mimicked.
2) What is your favourite source of natural colour?
There are two different types of natural colors that are mistakenly interchanged - Earth pigments and natural dyes. Earth pigments are insoluble in water and are physically and chemically unaffected by mediums they are mixed with while dyes are soluble in water and typically impart their color by staining or being absorbed into materials. I work strictly with Earth pigments. Earth pigments are inorganic minerals that derive from the ground and can be pulverized into a powder form that can be mixed with a binder to make paint. I love working with ochres, which are colored from iron. Iron grounds me to Earth as it runs through the veins of the Earth and the veins of my body.
3) What was the first source of natural colour you worked with?
The first source of natural color I worked with was ochre found around my community. The process of collecting ochre, pulverizing it in my studio, and mulling it into paint mesmerized me. I couldn’t shake the magic of this material and I wanted it to radiate throughout my studio.
4) What does working with natural colour teach you? What do you think it teaches others who purchase your work?
This question is beautiful. Natural color teaches you a lot about curiosity and diving into a process that has its own language. My materials are alive and they very much radiate at their own vibrations. I often let these dialogues take place in my studio. It teaches you a lot about the stories of this Earth. I hope that those who purchase my work feel these stories. I want to inspire slowness and an appreciation for this good Earth.
5) Do you have a special colour 'story' you wish to share? Maybe it's a story about a place where you collect it from, grow it, prepare it etc.
While I don’t have a specific story, my materials are sharing their stories with me. There’s so much to learn about this Earth. Letting my hands explore its most precious materials teaches me so much about the very lifelines of the land.
6) What's your favourite part of your creative process? (Can be natural pigment related, or just in general)
My favorite part of my process is becoming one with the Earth. There is no better feeling than collecting materials, hands covered in natural color, and feeling grounded. It brings me slowness, appreciation, and guidance. My answers always lie within the soil.
7) What senses are engaged when you're working with natural colour and natural materials in general?
I’m most immersed in the feeling of physical Earth and the smell of fresh Earth. Although, I will admit, at times my process is quite loud when materials are being pulverized and mulled.
8) What do you wish people could learn or experience (about your work, about natural colour, or just about life in general)?
I hope that people are able to learn and experience an appreciation of the Earth and the stories it holds. It’s so easy to take it for granted, but when you’re watching, really watching, there is so much beauty to experience. Mesmerizing color is all around us and it’s produced by the very mineral that runs through our own bloodlines.
