I began my life as a child artist, spending everyday finger painting. As I got older I became curious about what paint is and where it comes from, “maybe, I could make my own!”

However, I learned that it is not so easy to make paint, much easier to buy it from the store. The process of collecting and purifying rocks and soil was more work then I expected, but the journey of learning has changed me for the better. And those insights and connections with the source of color, the pigments and landscapes themselves have taught me so much that I get to now share with you!

In both my pigment and my pottery practice, I forage for earth, in the colorful and clay rich embankments of country roads in the Pacific Northwest.

Sitting with these places I am beginning to understand more than ever the link between our bodies and the mineral personalities of the landscape; of blood and iron. I am learning to interpret their languages and histories and the relationship of these minerals to their greater ecological community. It is a slow and soulful conversation.

My ancestral tree has been on this continent for over 7 generations, many early American settlers fleeing starvation and violence. I carry this legacy, as someone who deeply loves this land, while also feeling tremendous grief for the impacts and harm caused by government and settler violence to Native Nations (past and present), as well as the land itself. I am learning how to live honestly in this reality as how I have come to be here now, and make these simple offerings of my hands as a vessel for acknowledgement and healing, and for our shared future.

Thanks for reading, with love, Hosanna