Space is limited; reserve your spot. Rain or shine.
No previous experience required, all skill levels and backgrounds are welcome.
Space is limited; reserve your spot. Rain or shine.
No prior experience necessary.
Overview:
Make natural paints and charcoal from soil, rocks and vines. Learn how to forage responsibly, process pigments, charcoal and mull your own oil, watercolor and tempera paints. We’ll walk the farm and fields to gather rocks and vines and visit the chicken coop to collect eggs. We’ll gather around the fire to make charcoal. After a demonstration, we’ll jump into hands-on work to grind and process these earth materials into artist-quality pigments, paints and inks. Enjoy a delicious farm-to-table lunch in the field.
What You Will Learn:
- How to gather earth pigments responsibly
- Practical methods for processing and making artist-quality pigments & paints from soil and rocks
- How to make artist-grade charcoal from natural vines
- Techniques for painting with natural paints and inks on paper
Workshop Highlights:
- Walk the farm and fields to forage for colors
- Take home charcoal and paints that you have hands-on processed from earth in the barn studio
- Farm-to-table lunch in the field (or greenhouse if too chilly or rainy)
- Perfect for artists, nature enthusiasts and botany lovers, no experience necessary
Location:
- Jill’s barn studio in Chatham, NY on a serene 200-acre farm
- 25 minutes from Hudson, 25 minutes from Great Barrington, 2 hours north of Manhattan (access via Amtrak to Hudson)
Required materials:
We offer two options for materials to accommodate everyone's needs: you can bring your own tools or Jill can purchase them for you for an additional $65 available at checkout. Jill will provide all other necessary materials for processing and painting and have any purchased materials waiting for you.
Here are the specific tools you will need:
- Mortar and pestle made of marble, stone, ceramic, or metal (wood is not suitable)
- Tempered glass palette (approximately 11 x 14 inches, plus or minus)
- Glass muller
- Small fine kitchen sieve
What to Bring:
- Required materials above
- A few jars with lids (used, clean jars with lids 12-24 oz is perfect)
- Sketchbook for color swatching and note-taking
- Weather-appropriate layers and waterproof shoes or boots
- Harvesting basket or tote for gathering
- Bring your own earth and rocks if you like as well
- Hands ready to work, questions and a belly ready to eat a delicious meal from the farm
Contact jill@farmandfieldny.com with questions or for recommendations on transportation and where to stay if needed.
Refund policy: Refunds are not available due to the long-term planning involved in our workshops. However, we offer credits that can be applied toward a custom workshop or a future workshop date.