Stepping into creativity doesn’t always flow naturally. There’s rhythms, a dance you do to keep up with your inner thoughts. How do you come back to the practice with confidence, inspiration? One of my favorite tools is visualization.

Outside of busy happenings in your day to day life, you get to divulge in an artistic practice daily. In this practice, you give yourself permission to be who you know you really are. You free your mind and let your imagination come to the forefront. This is your opportunity to step into life for yourself where you are your most amazing self and you suppress fear and inadequacy.

I am one with

the Earth.

As you begin to collect natural earth pigments, you may find it helpful to do a couple of local tests on the rocks you have collected. These tests can help identify the materials you are collecting, as well as build an understanding and a language for the characteristics of natural earth pigments.

Formations emerge,

Locating deposits of color is the first step in finding and collecting natural earth pigments. Once you find an area that lacks Earth coverage, you’ll start to see an array of colors emerge in the form of rocks and soils.

I feel the Earth,

My skin follows the warmth

A ray of sunshine. Nothing could describe this human any better. So full of energy and enthusiasm for the free will of creating. The fourth person I shared a conversation with was someone that I followed since my beginning days on instagram. It was so wonderful to finally connect.

Red rocks immerse me.

There was a real sense of calm when it came to the third conversation I shared. After having multiple interactions over natural earth pigments, I couldn’t wait to dive into a deeper conversation and share a language for the Earth.

For a long time now (at least 10 years) I’ve held on to a collection of vintage watercolor paper. It’s moved with me to every state I’ve lived in, finding its home in one of my many boxes.

As you begin collecting natural earth pigments, it’s important to remember to protect the landscape. I have formed a relationship with the earth that I cannot really put into words. It didn’t grow overnight but over a long time of interest and curiosity. Collecting earth pigments sustainably and ethically requires mindful actions. Through your process, I encourage you to build a long-term dialogue with different spaces. This builds trust and intimacy within multi-species communities.

Finding and collecting natural Earth pigments is a gift. It hones your senses to the environment around you, connecting you to the landscape in ways you haven’t felt before. Finding natural earth pigments is about being aware. To a degree, there is a science to it, but having an innate sense of curiosity will springboard your search for natural earth pigments. 

Throughout the month of June things have progressed very slowly in my studio. Most of the month I have placed my energy and focus on gathering my supplies into boxes so I can continue my creative journey in a new city. The time I’ve spent processing through each material, supply, and pigment has gathered an array of thoughts on my slow studio practice .

My first conversation was shared with someone who has quickly become a really great friend of mine. At the beginning of the year, I slowly began to let people into my studio practice by sharing my process on Instagram live. It is a very raw and a very vulnerable step for me. One day out of the blue, this amazing soul reached out, sharing her thoughts and joy in seeing the process. Once the live was over, she quickly messaged me and our conversation flourished from there.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.