ranch studios artist Residency, the Eames Institute, 2025

In early 2025, I was invited to participate in the inaugural season of the Ranch Studio Artist Residency of the Eames Institute in Petaluma, California. The opportunity arrived at a time of grappling with the state of our nation after years of dedicated efforts for democracy, offering a restorative place to experiment with new processes and connect to the natural world. With support from the agricultural program, I spent a portion of my time learning how to make botanical color from the abundance of flowers, plants, trees and fungi on site. I spent days foraging oak galls, redwood cones and mushrooms, and harvesting dye plants from the flower garden.

The culminating projects I carried out during the residency collectively form a new series, REPAIR WORK, which includes collages made from botanical colors from the Eames Ranch, hand-sewn mending projects and writing that serve as an invitation and call to action to care for the planet and our democracy.

The projects of all 2025 resident artists will be on view in, Crafting Curiosity, opening January 22, 2026 at the Petaluma Art Center.

All images courtesy of the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, photography by Nico Zurcher, 2025