Earth-Based Art Lab

Photo by Samantha Martinez

Artist Samantha Martinez

All are welcome to this space full of earth-based media options to experiment and create their own bookmarks or postcards. Explore botanical inks from bark, flowers, roots, berries, nuts, and leaves, grapevine and willow drawing charcoal, as well as watercolors, gouache, beeswax crayons, oil pastels, and egg tempera created by hand using natural earth pigments. Learn about examples of these materials in use throughout art history as well as recipes and the methods for making.

While the conventional art supply market can be laden with costly chemicals and synthetic substances, it has been a tradition throughout human history to source art materials directly from the earth. The process of growing, gathering, and preparing materials with our own hands helps us to eliminate or divert much of the plastic waste stream, to avoid unnecessary exposure to toxins, and to nurture a greater understanding and appreciation for geology, flora, and other organisms.