Pigment + Place: Deep Time and Place Workshop (May 29–June 8, 2025)

Led by artist and poet Daniela Naomi Molnar, this 10-night workshop/residency experience will introduce you to the vibrant world of natural pigments in PLAYA’s ecosystem. You’ll learn how to ethically forage pigments and transform them into any type of paint or ink. You’ll also learn about pigments as a way to creatively engage with ecological issues, including climate change.

Pigments allow us to feel forms of time that our daily lives can obscure — geologic time, photosynthetic time, or what is often called “deep time.” In opening up different timescales, pigments offer a balm for the confusion and challenging emotions that our ecological crises can provoke. Here in the vast, open space, making pigments from rocks, plants, bones, and wild waters, you’ll interact directly with ancient rhythms, finding new insights, inspiration, and artistic paths.

Guided field trips will offer the opportunity to explore the region. We’ll go on short hikes to  get to know pigment sites, ancient petroglyphs, and other regional wonders. Your teacher is a certified wilderness guide with backcountry medical training so you can feel safe on these outings. This course has resulted in many lasting friendships, collaborations, gorgeous colors, and revitalized artistic practices.

The first part of this class (days 2 – 4) consists of field trips, conversations, demos, slideshows, and other informative, skill-building, and exploratory group activities. You’ll receive creative prompts and optional readings. Days 5 – 6 consists of individual studio time with optional studio visits from the instructor to discuss your questions, interests, and goals. Day 7 is a guided field trip, followed by 2 more days (days 8 – 9) of studio time with optional individual studio visits. We wrap up on day 10 with the opportunity to share your work and ideas with the group.

What you will learn and experience:

• Experience the unique natural pigments, ecology, and cultures of PLAYA’s bioregion. 
• Explore pigment practice as a way to creatively engage with ecological issues, including climate change in a supportive group
• Engage with creative prompts meant to deepen and expand your experience of this unique bioregion. 
• Reimagine the creative process as a way to engage with ecological issues, including climate change. 
• Learn how to ethically forage and produce pigments from the earth. 
• Learn about the cultural, ecological, and artistic significance of natural pigments through discussion, reading, and application.
• Begin to develop or expand a personal ethos around pigment practice. 
• Learn (a bit, it’s a vast territory) about the cultural and ecological history of both synthetic and natural pigments.
• Explore experimental painting techniques focused on the interaction between pigments, water, and paper. 
• Play, explore, laugh, ask answerable and unanswerable questions, watch the stars, rest, regenerate, eat well, and get to know each other. 

Click each cabin below for the full workshop agenda/details and cabin descriptions.

Cancellation policy: $50 cancellation fee. Six or less days before arrival NO refund; seven-14 days before arrival 50% refund; 15-28 days before 75% refund.