ranch studios artist Residency, the Eames Institute, 2025

In early 2025, I was invited to participate in the inaugural Ranch Studio Artist Residency program of the Eames Institute, an organization founded to steward and maintain the legacy of Ray and Charles Eames. The opportunity arrived at a welcome time, offering a moment to experiment with new processes in the pastoral setting of the family’s historic ranch in Petaluma, just about an hour north of San Francisco. With support of the agricultural program on site I learned how to make botanical colors from the abundance of natural materials in the rural landscape, spending days foraging oak galls and redwood cones, harvesting dye flowers from the flower garden and seeking out fungi. The resulting inks and watercolors tell a story of the land and place.

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

The work of all twelve of the 2025 artist residents were recently on view in the exhibition Crafting Curiosity at the Petaluma Art Center.