Artistic Representation of Natural Pigments by Heidi Gustafson

By
Ariel Hirsh
-

Washington-based artist and researcher Heidi Gustafson found her life calling in foraging, processing, and cataloging natural samples of minerals for the Early Futures Ochre Archive. Through her work, she found a way to express her artistic talents by photographing the samples that often come in incredible colors.

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land pigments all gathered near bellingham, washington ~ where i live and work. ill process more soon to include western whatcom county, which extends into the cascade volcanic mts and includes some gorgeous volcanic breccias, fossilized iron clams and fossil bed shales, coals, etc. here are sandstone concretions, coastal, glacial and sedimentary clays, bog iron, hematite, limonite, goethite, waste water iron, vivianite, various other bits and bobs. inspired by the great washington mineral show i just saw at @whatcom_museum!! . . #bellingham #whatcomcounty #geology #westernwashington #pacificnorthwest #whatcomminerals #pnwminerals #pigments #mineralpigments #pnwart #northcascades #ruralartist #studiolife #rockhounds #washingtonminerals #geologicpigment #earthpigments #ochre #localart #slowart #whatcom #localcolor

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Gustafson’s work includes recording the available data about each particular ochre and finding new ways for their application. She finds new purposes for the materials, and “more importantly, [she] builds a relationship to the materials,” as she tells This is Colossal. “I’m trying to understand their unique behaviors, the microbial communities they host and support, their tonal ranges, their historical uses, and many other diverse features,” Gustafson adds.

You can see more on her Instagram page. Needless to say, we are absolutely in love with her work.

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settling into research trip around a few Aegaen and Cyclades islands. spent a couple days on remote Lemnos island, home of both 1. the origins of medicine/pharmaceutical pills, harvested and made by priestesses-only of iron-rich ochre clay mixed w goats blood, and stamped w sigils of Artemis and 2. birthplace and home of Hephasteous "the halting" limping god of iron and metallurgy. 1. sandstone pallete and irons made of rocks i found on beach 2. Lemnian miltos (aka ochre) displayed at the Acropolis museum in Athens 3. 7th century BC (and onward) amphitheatre of Hephasteous built of volcanic rocks, iron sandstones and overlooking an ancient volcano, or the forge. 4+5. rocks that make iron-god theatre wont be posting too much while i am here working and deeply experiencing these places, but will be sending off occasional waves when on wifi btwn places and will share images when i return home in a couple weeks.

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ökur oracles

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peeks into an intensive pigment workshop at my home ochrearium. i live and work in these inner/outer earths on a daily basis, and its v inspiring to me to welcome new people and see them encountering and feeling the impact of working directly w rootearth! 1 pigments made from foraged rocks 2 forage walk 3 uncovering iron hydroxides 4 pigments found in a 50ft area of creekbed 🤹🏼‍♀️ 5 same pigments tested with water 6 teaching on particle sizes and behavior 7 gorgeous iron pigment 8 scene from around the studio 😁 9 a great smiley picture of me! 10 my ochrearium home thank you for capturing and sharing a few of these moments @leahkoransky @barbskoog @berlyrobin!! you were all fucking wonderful people and cant wait to see where these ore doors lead you. . . #ochre #pigments #bellingham #everson #pnwart #nwartist #northcascades #sumasmt #foraging #meditation #spiritualpractice #training #earthpigment #ironoxide #ironhydroxide #greenearth #wildcrafting #ore #ocre #mineralpigments #truecolors #colorhunting #colorhistory #materiality #geologyofart #sciart #soilart #soil

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getting my personal foraged ochre/iron pigment palette all together. made from gathered and mined iron minerals and soil and groundwater and sometimes a drop of my own sloppy mix of multiple tree gums (and tbt, there are a couple pieces here that dont have iron like th white chalk) each pigment stone is processed according to their capabilities ~ some like a long grind, some shine with a single crush, some want nothing, want to stay whole as self-drawing places. i use these for my own drawing and painting practices, especially to help me record my inner retinue of teachers and imaginal spiritual columbarium infrastructure (akin to a memory palace of the ancients) i work in, whch someday i will build or find out of physical stone in a place thats not only my body. ✨

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ochre archive contributions sent to me (or that i foraged) in the past few months. many of these i didnt get around to sharing here when i received them, many others are still workin a bardo and not shown here. if you are new to my work and don't know about my ochre archive project >>> i cultivate a library of world-wide ochres (IRON-rich mineral pigments) for beauty, medicine, conservation and research purposes ~~~ esp. to explore imaginal and biological seeds hidden within them to help creatively respond to climate depression. humans (you??) send earthen chunks of pigment material (rocks, crystals, dust, sediments) found or sourced or mined, usually with a note or letter. you can read more and see fellow contributors on earlyfutures.com/ochrearchive. 💆🏽‍♀️ thank you again to all who've sent offerings already! over 500! in other news ~ did ya'll see the article about earths leaky core? turns out earth's magnetic iron heart leaks. as if i cld fall any more in love with our oozy woozy ferr place…. well… . . pigments from: washington, oregon, california, hawaii, utah, nevada, arizona, wyoming (Powars II site), north and south carolina, france, germany, italian islands, australia, south africa (joburg and sibudu), british columbia, and elsewhere. #ochrearchive #ochre #redochre #ironoxide #ironhydroxide #iron #siderophile #iron-loving #leakingcore #magneticpole #planetearth #mineralpigments #pigments #earthpigments #ironsky #artisticresearch #minerals #soilart #soil #stone #crystals #crystalhealing #microbiallife #humanorigins #rainbow #mining #ironmine #landscape #naturaldye #wildclay #slowcraft

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