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Even though I now have only non-toxic and natural art materials around, I have to admit that I spent most of my life practically bathing in turpentine and leaving heavy-metal laden paints on my skin to seep into my bloodstream. But even if I hadn't been an artist, just living on this planet means we need to detoxify or lesson our toxic load. I personally developed a variety of allergies that started after 4 years of art school and now...

Photo of Forbes Antique Pigment collection - by Jason Fulford for The New YorkerBefore we had ready-made paints and art supplies stores, there were Colormen! They were the “traders” of the paint world starting in the late 17th century and sold artists prepared pigments, pre-mixed oil paints, watercolors, dyes, made brushes, prepped canvases, gums, resins, and more. Before Colormen - during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance - the...

The Color-Filled World of Ancient Egypt The influence that Egypt has had on countless cultures is profound. Can you believe that the ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3000 years? They were not only astounding innovators, but they discovered and advanced most of the arts and sciences that we have the privilege of knowing today. Art was incredibly important throughout their culture, and to this day we can still mar...

(Film featuring our Natural Face Paint)...

Save the Date for our first annual "Summertime Art & Music Celebration" - July 15th! FREE EVENT! Natural Face Painting, Tutorials on Making your own natural art supplies, Live Music, Earth Painting Activities for Kids, Yummy Organic Food and Treats, Artisan Craft Booths and more. For the artists of Southern Oregon: these will be the only classes on Natural & Non-toxic Painting (and paint making) this year, so don't miss out! Plus, the...

With spring coming to an end, now is the perfect time to do some last minute spring-cleaning by taking down old décor and creating new ones! These banners are perfect for seasonal décor; they can also be used as decorations for all celebrations such as baby shower, wedding showers, graduations, and birthday parties.Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create decorative banners for any occasion! All you need is a little bit of paint...

This is the first blog post in our series of articles in which we are capturing the historical uses of Natural Earth Paints through the different eras. Enjoy! The Prehistoric EraNatural Earth pigments were the earliest recorded materials used by our ancient ancestors to make paint and various mediums. We can see artistic practices dating as far back as 500,000 years ago by Homo Erectus, our ancient ancestors.The oldest cave painting know...

When it comes to simple gifts that you can make for Mother's Day, painting a card or creating a picture are among our first thoughts. Finger painting is a great way to let your kiddos express themselves and create personalized art. However, let’s not forget about the messy and highly toxic situation that’s in conventional children’s paint. It’s important to choose paints that are safe for your kids, especially if their skin is going to...

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about what we want to give to our mothers, grandmothers, and all the mother figures in our lives to express how much they truly mean to us. With a little help from Mother Nature, you can create simple handmade gifts that mothers can cherish forever.We came up with two beautiful crafts that anyone at any age can do for their mamas! Check them out: 1. DIY Adoration Sto...

Are you looking for a simple, beautiful, and creative DIY gift? Adoration Stones are such a fun and elegant craft that everyone will treasure and anyone at any age can do! For children, with a little leadership from an adult, and a bit of creativity, these stones would make a great gift (Hint: Mother's Day!) They would be a beautiful addition to any home or garden! It all starts with a walk outside in search of your favorite flat...

(Photo and Model: Brooke Fiorillo, using Natural Face & Body Paint)Earth Day arrives every year on April 22nd, and with its arrival brings hope to inspire mindfulness and gratitude for our earth. Mother Nature deserves much appreciation and there are many simple ways that you can celebrate in your own home, work space or art studio. The sunshine is starting to stay in the sky longer, the days are warmer and rows of blossoms are beginnin...

Dig out your old, unsightly flower pots and give them some new life with the Children's Earth Paint Kit! Simply paint directly on the cleaned pots with the water soluble Earth Paint and create a 100% earthen art piece. My two year old painted several of these with drool flying and intent focus.He almost enjoyed the stacking and unstacking/ arranging flowers process more than the painting.The masterpiece is finally complete!...

Here are our top FOUR reasons why you should stick to natural dyes: 1. We often get the question, "Why Should I Use Natural Dyes to Dye My Eggs, When I'm Not Eating the Egg Shell?" Dyes frequently seep through the egg shell and onto the hard boiled eggs, and then eaten! Personally, I have never dyed an egg where this hasn't happened. It seeps through the skin and then you (or your child) eats the egg along with the toxic dye! 2. Som...

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If you love Spring Time as much as we do, you'll love our fun crafts collection! Check out our following Blog Posts and Videos for all your Crafty Needs: For our Crafty & Vegan Friends we have, DIY Wooden EggsDIY Leaf Print EggsColoring Eggs Naturally-and With Toddlers! Nature Art Projects for Kids! P.S. Our Wooden Eggs Craft Kit is 15% OFF until April 3rd, 2017, Use Coupon Code WOODENEGGS15)Want More? Follow our Yo...

Step 1: Put small fern, cilantro leaf, parsley leaf, flower, or other small leaf on egg and cover with nylon panty hoseStep 2: Twist the end and secure with rubber bandStep 3: Place in Natural Egg Dye for 5-15 min.Step 4: Carefully remove rubber band, nylon stocking, and leaf and let dry.and Viola! Leaf Print Eggs!...

#1. Natural Gold Mica Oil PaintIngredients: Natural Gold Mica & Refined Walnut Oil1. Pour small mound of gold mica on a glass palette 2. Pour small amount of walnut oil on top3. Mix with a palette knife until smooth (adding more oil as needed).4. Paint!#2. Flash Guilding1. Brush an oil or water-based adhesive onto dry painting surface. We used walnut oil.2. Dip dry, soft brush into dry mica.3. Dust onto wet surface.4. Wait until completely dry be...

Natural Earth PaintMAKE YOUR OWN ECO STAMP PAD in 60 seconds!Supplies:Paper Towels, Natural Earth Paint, Variety of household items to stamp(pencil erasers, golf tees, wine corks, toothpaste cap, cut fruit or vegetables, flowers, Q-tips, toilet paper rolls, finger tips, etc.) Step 1: Fold a few sheets of paper towels into a square and moisten with waterPlace on a small plate or dish. Step 2: Pour a few spoonfuls of Natural Earth P...

Eco artist, Pamela Hoke, has been on an artistic journey for many years to express nature as love through her writing and art. She wrote the book “Natural Self Discovery,” and is currently creating a revised edition, which describes her recent move to the Pacific Northwest, her recent challenge with breast cancer, and a shift to Natural Earth Paints as her new medium. Her quest to discover a more earth-friendly and body-friendly art...

Laura Zepeda is an inspirational earth artist in that she has completely invented her own tools, supplies and techniques using roughly crushed earth and minerals to make “paintings” that literally glow like a gemstone. Here is her description of this interesting process….I have no idea what I’m doing but a thousand ways to do it: I’m equal parts Artist and Mad Scientist. I’m making this up as I go along. I am not only creating art, bu...

Roberto Parada is an internationally known oil painter and illustrator, having been published in Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, ESPN The Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, and Huffington Post. Few people know that his art process came close to ending his life in 2004. I had the honor of interviewing him about his journey in discovering which of his art supplies were literally killing him, how it happened and what he did to change his...

Mixing your own watercolors allows you to make an incredibly archival, very high quality paint that has a more brilliant luminosity (see comparison to commercial tubed paint below) and are free of fillers, preservatives, heavy metals, petroleum-based pigments and toxins. And it couldn't be simpler! Ingredients: Natural Earth PigmentsGum Arabic PowderHoney (if you want a vegan version, use glycerin)Optional Ingredients: clove or thym...

Every room in my home is painted with this natural clay paint that's easy to make, economical, and gives my home a beautiful, soft, adobe-like look. I get compliments from all my guests!Supplies Needed:drill with paint mixer attachmentbucketflourboraxNatural Earth Pigmentsfine sand (optional)Step 1:Make Flour Paste: Mix 2 cups cold water with 1 cup flour, then add to 6 cups of boiling water - stir until thick.Step 2:In a bucket miix 1 part fl...

Make Your Own Natural and Non-Toxic Impasto Medium [NATURAL EARTH PAINT] July 12 2015Now Available at Natural Earth Paint ... Natural Impasto Medium! $7.25 eachThicken and extend your paint naturally to create beautiful textural effects.NATURAL EARTH PAINTwww.natural-earth-paint.comAshland, Oregon...

St. Patty's Day Nature Craft & Treasure Hunt: Make your own Leprechaun Gold with DIY natural gold mica paintHere's a great and simple activity to get outside, be in nature, have loads of fun and do crafts! March 17th is St. Patty's Day and what a perfect day to pretend to be a leprechaun OR hunt for a leprechaun. As you know, Leprechaun's always have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and according to legend if one is captured by a c...

DIY Natural & Non-toxic Modeling ClayMy 4 year old son loves home-made play dough, but in the reality of our hectic days, I never find myself with time to make new batches for him. So when someone gave him a set of modeling clay that permanently stays moist and malleable and infinitely re-usable, I was very excited. I noticed though that there was a toxic smell and it stuck to his hands and dyed them colors. I did a little research and...

I recently met a local artist/ printmaker, Shannon Yost, and asked her if she's ever made non-toxic printmaking ink (because I know it's very hard to find). To my delight and surprise she had actually studied with visiting Japanese Master Printmakers and learned a very ancient and little-known technique called the Moku Hanga technique of making your own inks. This ancient recipe has always used all non-toxic ingredients and we had fun...

4 Step Tutorial to become Queen Elsa with Natural Face Paints!...

Reprinted from Parent Guide News!...

One of the most common questions I get about our natural earth paints is...."Can I paint wooden toys with earth paints and will the paint come off if a baby is chewing on it or if it gets wet?" The answer is yes, the paint is perfect for wooden toys and is quick and easy to paint and clean-up with water BUT yes, it will wear off over time or if chewed on UNLESS it's varnished. Many toy makers have been using these paints for their toys for...

Natural Earth Paints has just had its 3rd birthday as a small, home-based, woman-run business and we're now ready for a whole new leap in our development! As we've grown, our home has reached capacity and a warehouse space is the new vision. We also have the goal of hiring one more paint maker and our first marketing specialist.If you feel called to help support a small, eco, mama-owned business on the verge of something great, please c...

As Halloween approaches, I'll be posting several step-by-step face painting tutorials that are simple and beautiful and using all natural and non-toxic face paints.The first installment is this precious cat or tiger!Step 1: Paint two red triangular ears on forehead and three black stripes on cheeks and forehead.Step 2:Outline ears with black.Step 3:Add as many curly loops as you like.Step 4:Paint bottom of nose black.Step 5:Add 3 dots and whisk...

One very common comment I've gotten since starting this business is, "Are earth pigments mostly shades of brown, yellow and red?" I also get the question "What do you use to dye the earth pigments?. It's hard for many people to believe that these amazingly varied and radiant colors can come directly from the earth with nothing added. If you know me, you know that my entire wardrobe are these colors, my home is painted with these color...

Materials: Earth paint, bowls, Recycled toilet paper rolls, scissors and paper 1) Mix a few colors of Earth Paints in large-ish flat bowls2) Cut one end of toilet paper rolls into flower shapes3) Dip toilet paper flowers into paint and stamp on paper4) Repeat several times to make fun floral prints. Great to use to make cards and send to loved ones :)HAPPY SUMMER!Craft by: Danelle Winser Craft Tester: Phoenix, 4 years old...

How to stretch, prime and find sustainable materials to make an eco-friendly artist canvas!Plus a Bonus: 7 More sustainable surfaces to paint on (below)MATERIALS:- Certified Organic Cotton Canvas- Stretcher Bars (several options available): 1) Build your own (or hire a local woodworker) to make stretcher bars with recycled or FSC certified wood OR 2) find old paintings at yard sales or in second-hand stores and re-use those stretche...

My little boy has been dyeing eggs for two months now! He doesn't care if it's Easter or not, it's unbelievably fun and magical at any time. And I don't have to worry about any nasty petroleum-based dyes or if he's sticking his fingers in the dyes (and then putting fingers in his mouth) since we always use Natural Egg Dyes. They're made with dehydrated blueberries, spinach, purple carrots, beets and turmeric - nothing else.Step 1: Pour Pa...

Painting these wooden eggs has provided my 3 year old son and I triple the fun of buying eggs! The painting, the arranging, AND the hunting. Plus the satisfaction of knowing you can re-use them each year (and keep painting on different designs if you like). The Wooden Eggs Craft Kit (Which 15% OFF until April 3rd, 2017, Use Coupon Code WOODENEGGS15) comes with 6 wooden eggs (hand-made by a local artisan with FSC-certified wood) and 6 col...

My family enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day of tree planting a few days ago. We planted twenty one-gallon containers of various conifers.As always, our son Django was thrilled to help “massage the roots” and dig holes as he helped us plant. On a cool, drizzly day two weeks ago our crew was able to quickly plant two hundred bare root seedlings of a local oak tree. Many thanks to Shooting Star nursery for providing wholesale prices for our order...

When it comes to crafts, I always like to go back to basics – simple and natural. That’s why I love making good, old-fashioned Potato Prints with Natural Earth Paint! This activity can be enjoyed by toddlers, older children, and even adults. Give your loved ones a beautiful, earthy Valentine, and enjoy their smiles.Step 1: Cut some potatoes in half (I like to use different sizes). Fingerlings are easy for a toddler to grip. Medium and l...

How to Store Your Mixed Earth Oil Paints & Keep them Wet Longer A common question we get is.... "After mixing up a large batch of Earth Oil Paint, how do I keep it wet for a long period?"This answer could also apply to any oil paints that you use. Here are a few options (the first is my favorite)... 1. At the end of a day's painting, scrape any leftover colors into small squares of foil, fold the foil over so that the paint is air...

As a professional artist, I've always wished that someone would invent a non-toxic, natural, vegan and archival gesso to prime my canvases and wood panels, but last year I gave up waiting. We spent many months formulating, testing and researching different ingredients and are excited to now introduce our new, natural and professional quality gesso kit!This Kit contains: 3 lb.s of premium artist grade powdered limestone in an biodeg...

After learning last year that recent scientific testing revealed 10 out of 10 of the most popular face paints contained lead and toxic preservatives, we immediately set to work formulating a completely natural, non-toxic and high quality Face & Body Paint Kit. Completely non-toxic, earth & mineral based and we’re proud to introduce our new creation.This clay and mineral-based face and body paint is similar to the origin...

Green Kid Crafts has included Natural Earth Paint in their upcoming Nature Art Box - The Backyard Science Discovery Box! If you've never gotten one of these boxes, I discovered them last year and sent a Nature Art Box to each of my nieces and nephews and it was a huge hit! It's a kit filled with several different nature-based, DIY crafts (they have lots of different topics to pick from) with all the materials included and it's mailed direct...

Painting by Rembrandt created with natural earth pigments, minerals, and walnut oil.While studying painting at one of the top art schools in America, I trusted my amazing professors like they were preaching the gospel. I looked up to their expertise so completely that I assumed they would of course tell me if any of these supplies they were recommending might be extremely toxic. For the supplies that I already knew were toxic (like turp...

My husband and I have always been huge Andy Goldsworthy fans and pre-baby we would go down to the local creek and make rock and ice sculptures. We would sometimes gather colorful twigs and leaves and anything that we found visually interesting on the forest floor and make art with it. There's nothing like doing something completely unproductive in the name of beauty. It replenishes your spirit like nothing else.Now that we have a 2 y...

As my 2 year old and I were walking through the woods recently, he stopped on the trail and started picking up little red, yellow and brown colored rocks on the well worn path. We sat down and played with them for a while before I realized they were probably made of clay and minerals, just like in our Earth Paint Kits, and would make great drawing tools.We started coloring on nearby big, grey rocks and sure enough, they made beauti...

This is a great Winter craft using natural materials indoors on a cold day!These Nature Mandalas were made by 2-4 year olds but they can be enjoyed by all ages with more intricate results.Materials:Recycled CDsrecycled house paint or gessoGluePaint brushSeeds, grains and spices (turmeric, paprika, mung beans, black sesame seeds, amaranth, red quinoa, mica flakes, etc.)Step 1: For the parent or older child - Paint your old CDs white with gesso or...

Oregon Healthy Living Magazine just featured an article about Earth Paints in their December/ January issue!...

Learn about Natural Earth Paints for Children in this short and informative video. It covers.... What can be found in commercial children's art supplies (very scary!) A brief history of Earth Paints (from the cavemen on up) How to mix them and what you can paint with them And more!...

ECO & Non-Toxic Oil Painting TutorialCheck out our latest 8 minute tutorial demonstrating many Eco & Non-toxic Oil Painting Tips and Techniques. Many of which took me several years of research and experimentation to figure out.Information included: How to eliminate all solvents from the process (turpentine, mineral spirits)How to clean your brushes and thin your paint without using toxinsWhat ingredients are in commercial tubed oil paints an...