New York, NY: Gingko Press (January 2023)

Hardback.

As new in decorated boards.

Art meets science in this guide to creating color with earth’s extraordinary pigments and exploring their fascinating uses today and throughout history

Part anthropological study, part art book, and part how-to, Book of Earth immerses you in the world of ochre, a naturally occurring mineral used to make pigment. Each chapter delves into author Heidi Gustafson’s rare pigment archive and provides a thorough exploration of natural color, while challenging our notions of the inanimate world. The book includes practical advice and techniques for creating your own pigments and applying these skills in everyday life.

Called the “ochre whisperer” by American Craft, and noted as the “woman archiving the world’s ochre,” in the New York Times, her personal collection of more than 600 pigments from around the planet is a unique treasure, and her passion and field experience will captivate you from the first page to the last.

Heidi Gustafson is an artist and ochre specialist with an archive of more than 400 pigments collected from across the globe. She is a frequent collaborator with artists, award-winning scientists, paleontologists, and other experts. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.