© Saskatchewan Cradleboard Initiative 2013
SCI – ‘Earth-based paint’
The heart of the e-ART-h
First Nations artists used clay and other minerals from the earth, crushing them and then mixing them to create a
rich paint that could be applied to a variety of surfaces including the human body.
The paints used by modern First Nation’s and Metis artists like Leah Dorion also come from the earth - colours like
‘titanium white’ and ‘cadmium red’ pay homage to the mineral pigments that give paint their bright colours.
All paints have three components:
1) a pigment that produces colour – traditionally this may have come from plant extracts (the usual source for green), lichen extracts (yellow,
purple, green and brown), charred wood and bone (black and very rich brown), and earth pigments (a full rainbow!). Today many colours are
produced through industrial-scale processes that reproduce the chemical changes that produce colourful pigments in nature, processes that
were well known to Saskatchewan’s FNIM people for many thousands of years
2) a carrier or medium that holds the pigment and makes it spreadable – some examples that have been used in Saskatchewan include water,
animal fat or tallow, vegetable oils, and saliva. The thickness or viscosity of a carrier depends on the use for which a paint is being made. For
example, when painting on wood, an artist may choose a low viscosity, runny stain that penetrates the wood fibre. When painting on human
skin, they might prefer a high viscosity, thick paste that will produce a bright colour and won’t wash off too easily.
3) a binder that holds the paint to a surface after it has dried – in modern paints this is often polyvinyl acrylic glue, but other binders are found
in egg yolk, blood, urine, plant resin and collagen glues produced by boiling fish scales or animal hides, sinew, or hooves
Some paint makers would describe a fourth element or group of elements, which are variously described as respect, intent, prayer, spirit.
Artists are embarking on a creative journey when they make paint. They offer respect for the earth or plant that produced the pigment, they
work with intention to communicate with the world through their art, and often they may offer a prayer that the paint will carry a right
message. Artists who buy paint in a store often bring this fourth element into their practice when they select and choose paints to buy.
MATERIALS (per 2 students): small shovel, large mason jars or beakers, pipette or turkey baster, cookie sheet, oven, tinfoil or metal boats
Activity part 1: ‘Where’s the clay?’
 Pictographs are paintings made on rock surfaces – the most common colours are red, yellow, orange, blue-green, black and white – most
are painted with a single colour
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Pictograph paints were made with a variety of minerals but the red pigments were usually derived from clay-rich soils that contained a
high proportion of iron oxides (hematite and limonite)
In this activity, you will see how (1) to separate clay pigments from soil (2) to derive a rainbow of colour from a single clay
Part A: Separating clay
o Collect some dirt (e.g. 4 L) that, when wet, has a ‘slippery’ feel (this comes from the clay particles) and an orangish hue (this is a clue
that the soil contains iron oxide minerals)
o Put it in a jar or jars and cover it with warm water
o Make soup! Using your hands or a spoon crush any lumps out of the soil-water slurry until it is thoroughly mixed
o Let the soil hydrate for 30min to 2 hours, then remix the solution
o Allow it to settle for 3 minutes. Clay particles are lighter than heavier soil constituents and will float. As the mixture settles you will
see a line appear on the side of your jar that shows where the floating ‘suspended’ clay particles and the sunken sediment meets
o Pour off the ‘clay water’ and let it settle in a separate container for up to 1 day. You should now have a lower layer of clay and a
upper column of fairly clear water. To speed this process up, you can use a centrifuge - or - can you think of another way to separate
the clay and water?
o Use a pipette to remove as much water as you can, then use a spatula to scrape out the clay and lay it on a cookie sheet. Spread out
this way it will dry rapidly, but you can speed it up in a low temperature oven (< 100oC)
Part B: Bringing clay to life
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Some clay will have a bright colour already – for example limonite may be yellow-orange
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Heating the clay speeds oxidation reactions that bring out red hues
© Saskatchewan Cradleboard Initiative 2013
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To see what kind of spectrum of paints can be made from your soil sample separate the clay residue into five metal dishes or boats
made from tinfoil.
Leave one un heated – heat one in a high temperature (500oC) oven while it is open to the air – heat the third in an oven in a sealed
container so that it is not open to the air
What colours did you make?
Activity part 2: ‘Bone black’ and ‘willow stick charcoal’ (overnight!)
MATERIALS (per group): 3 metal tins (e.g. cookie tin) with 5 holes punched in the lid, tinfoil cone plugs that fit in the five holes, dried willow
branches, bone and antler pieces, campfire
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Black pigments are often made in a fire by charring the organics
Choose some dry wood of even size, some bone, and some antler pieces – observe them carefully, discuss what each material is
made of and draw a picture of a sample of each ‘before’
Pack the materials into three tins, one for wood, one for bone, one for antler and put on the lids
Light a fire in the campfire
Put the tins carefully upright in the fire
After a few minutes you should start to see steam and smoke coming from the holes – H2O is being released from the samples by
the heat! Which tin began steaming first? Wood, bone, or antler?
After a while you will see the steam and smoke replaced by jets of flame! What has happened to your samples? They have begun to
release gases as the organic matter combusts – the H2 gas is highly flammable and catches on fire
Once these flames subside, you know that the gases have been removed, and what is left is primarily carbon – or char
Remove the tins form the fire, insert the tinfoil cone plugs into the holes so that no oxygen gets in and allows the carbon to be
further combused (burn), leave the tins overnight and let them cool
In the morning, open your tins and see your new art supplies!
On a light coloured paper, try drawing lines with each form of char – are they the same colour, or different? What does this tell you
about the materials?
Activity part 3: ‘Make and paint’ (30 min +)
MATERIALS (per 2 students): Pigments, water, pipette, cornstarch, water, glue or hide glue, mortar and pestle (or chalk and evaporated milk)
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What pigments are there in your area? Can you find and collect soils of different kind? Or charred wood or bone? How about rosehips or bright plant extracts like crushed dandelion leaves? Bone black?
TIP: if you are using fresh soil you may want to microwave it before using it for paints, this will kill any potential odour causing
bacteria, heating the soil will also remove organics
Knowing the 4 parts that are required to make paint, design an activity to create a piece of art that celebrates the gift art provides to
communicate with one another and to live in harmony with creation
First, choose what you would like to paint. Paper? A piece of hide? A branch with the bark removed?
Use the mortar and pestle to crush the pigment that you have chosen, add ~ 4 tbs cornstarch, and use the pipette to add just
enough water to make a slippery paste (the water and cornstarch are your medium), add a small amount of glue to help your paint
bind to the surface that you are painting (this is your binder). Another binder and carrier combination is to use a small amount of
chalk and condensed milk (proteins in the milk bind to Calcium ions from the chalk and produce a strong polymer glue).
Once you have one or more colours of paint ready to use, think carefully about what you would like to express.
After you have finished painting, use a circle to share your work. You may want to share what you learned while you painted, what
you are pleased with, what is was like to work with paint that you made yourself from natural pigments – how did this feel different
from working with craft materials that are purchased at a store?