It began because I believe in the wonder of the world that shakes you to life, and I imagine that that wonder needs a place of its own to live when it’s not busy lighting our souls on fire… This is why I started making archives, and how archiving materials became a part of my practice as an artist. The freaking wonder of it all, and how material has the ability to hold and know all that has been and all that could be.
Read moreA Ground from the Ground– gypsum & gesso deep dive
Interrupting the continuous colorscape of the Atacama Desert were white mineral veins winding through the cliffs, clustering in the sand, glinting in the sun. Gypsum. I smiled to myself, recounting the mineral’s characteristics in my head, its uses from plaster of paris to traditional gesso. I visited the material from my favorite painting ground in its natural habitat: the ground.
Read more"What's in a Name?" – the nomenclature of pigment and color
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Shakespeare certainly wasn’t thinking about artists’ pigments when he wrote this. Let me start by establishing that a pigment is a single substance with a consistent chemical composition, whereas a paint may include one (or many) pigments mixed with an adhesive binder that cures into a paint film. Where the convolution of pigment nomenclature closes doors to immediate clarity, it opens other doors to a deeper understanding.
Read moreThe Story We Stand On – how do you know if a rock will make a pigment?
With rocks come colors, with colors come pigments, and that’s really where it all starts and ends for me. One of the most common questions I am asked is some variation of: How do you know if a rock will make a pigment? I will share some knowledge and a bit about my own practice with pigments, and in doing so, I promise to only drag you partway down the rabbit hole of wonder, reverie and deep time.
Read moreA Return to Material Things – where I've been & why I'm back
Happy New Year, dear readers! Do you remember me? A thing or two has happened since the last post I made about earth pigments in 2018. Suffice to say, it’s been a whirlwind. But here I am! I’m back! I am excited to be returning to Material Things, and to use this as a conduit between all the most important things: you, me, painting, the stuff of our world, everything that has already passed, and everything yet to come.
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