Our brand is best known for our line of fur jewelry. What makes our products so unique is that they tell stories of the land from which they are harvested. While part of my brain loves the cognitive effortlessness of production of those pieces, other parts of my brain require discovery, experimentation, and unpredictability (safely within the confines of artistic expression). I have many loves when it comes to expressive art  such as textiles of all sorts but especially hand spinning yarn and weaving as well as foraging for earth pigments and making paints with them. 

What I've realized over the years of having our seasonal store in Alaska is that my winters are for production and artistic nurturing. This winter, I'm processing numerous samples of earth pigments foraged in the Yukon and Alaska (the photo above is one of my "dirt hunting" spots) that will become both watercolour paints (for purchase in Skagway later this year) and oil paints for me to experiment with and learn a new medium. If you know anything about me, you know I love learning and the challenge of mastering the puzzle that is a new skill. This winter is about oil painting with earth pigment oils. 

Have I ever painted with oils before? Nope.

Am I gonna jump in head first and see what happens (AKA fuck around and find out) - YEP!

I don't have an attachment to a specific outcome but I do have plans for what I hope to be able to accomplish. I want to learn about the density of the shades achieved with various materials, how much oil to use to accomplish specific textures in the paint, how long each layer takes to dry such that I can continue working the painting without interfering with previous layers. My hope with this new exploration is to generate a collection that will be shown and sold to collectors so that I can continue to grow and expand as a creative entrepreneur. 

I'll be documenting a lot of my process of discovery on TikTok  whenever the conditions are right.