Ochre Practices Workshop

9:30am – 11:30am PT (16:30 UTC)
Saturdays in October '23 (online)
$40/drop-in, $108/full series

Oct 7th - I. Artistic Research***
Oct 14th - II. Material Process
Oct 21st - III. Spiritual Practice

A three-part online/zoom workshop series (live + recorded) to learn how to engage with earth, ochre and mineral pigments. We will explore a variety of artistic, material and spiritual practices for working with stone, soil, soul, iron and place-based pigments in the ochre family. Each week there will be suggested further reading and exercises to do on your own time. Teachings will be rooted in art/craft skills, local + ecological knowledge, spiritual exercise and earth magic.

WHAT SKILLS + TOPICS WILL BE ADDRESSED?

I. Artistic Research

+ artistic/material research and daily life
+ learning to do and approach material knowledge, land and deep time stories
+ how to source written/visual info (field guides, rock and soil maps, google maps, where/how to get good info on the internet, instagram, etc.)
+ some context, definitions & history of ochres, pigments, artistic material practice
+ the importance of artistic process and making marks during loss and climate crisis

II. Material Process

+ how to work with ochres and earth pigment
+ how to read + feel + be dust, rocks, bones, Earth
+ body—ore—stone—psyche relationships
+ experimenting with elemental forces + binders (water, fire, air, metal, wood) for different effects and color changes
+ earth pigment risks, concerns and dangers
+ how to be a good guest (and a better ghost) (and a living ancestor)
+ prioritizing Indigenous and Native leadership
+ land grief, land back, land trust
+ foraging techniques that apply to anything (from canyons, to books, to thriftstores, to your own soul)

III. Spiritual Practice

+ inner-outer ecosystems
+ working with unseen energies and forces of place
+ tuning into yearning, attention, emotions
+ geologic beings and local non-human guardians
+ geomancy, divination and dreamwork
+ how to work with spirits, the dead (and the not enough dead), and uncertain presences
+ navigating timing: deep time, heart time, futures time, no time, unripe time
+ deep listening

FURTHER INFO + REQUIREMENTS

All are welcome.

Classes are direct teachings/lecture-based (in English). These are intensive, deep listening sessions with short periods for individual questions. My approach will be based off Book of Earth: A Guide to Ochre, Pigment, and Raw Color. Further suggested readings (pdf excerpts / book list) + material list will be provided in a Google drive and .doc format.

As a 3-day teaching series, I encourage you to attend the full offering. Drop-in single class registration is also available, for those who simply want to attend one of the sessions.

**You will receive an email prior to the first class with access to Google drive and Zoom link. Recordings will be sent out ahead of the next week's class, if you can't join the live time (and available up to a month or two afterwards).

**Questions? Reach out to me : [email protected]