We recently connected with Grace Emmet and have shared our conversation below.
Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
My natural ink making practice is the craft I am most focused on developing at the moment, and although I have learned a lot over the years, I still have much to discover. When you forage your materials from the landscape, it is an inherently slow process. I work with foliage, berries, mushrooms, nuts, all kinds of natural things that take time to grow and only do seasonally. The slowness, the patience and sense of timing that is required to work with wild things is what makes natural ink making so beautiful. It can be frustrating at times but I would not want to speed up the process. The time it takes is a reminder that good things come with time, and with our fast paced capitalist society, that is an invaluable lesson.
Grace, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I define myself as an eco-artist which has a lot of definitions but to me that means I am a visual artist who is interested in having an intimate relationship with the environment and place-based art making. After moving to the rural outer town of Eastham Cape Cod followed by the global pandemic, my life became very connected to the natural landscape, and not just the beaches, but the coastal forests, dunes, and marshes. I became fascinated with natural history and foraging which helped bring my daily existence closer to nature. I became fascinated with natural history and foraging which helped bring my daily existence closer to nature. And because of my background in illustration, I was drawn towards the observational and visual record keeping that goes into environmental science. I started to teach myself about the local ecosystems through this artistic lens. Foraging for wild food soon turned into foraging for color when I learned more about natural dye and inks. The last 3 years have been a whirlwind of experimentation to get to where I am in my natural ink making practice. I have worked with many different kinds of materials from samaras produced from red maple to sumac berries foraged on the side of highways. Everything I use to paint or draw with in my practice is derived not only from nature, but from a personal experience of tracking, gathering, making, jarring, before finally putting it on paper. I deeply believe in the importance of that kind of human relationship with nature: one built on mutual respect and understanding, not exploitation.
As an arts educator, working with youth feeds so much into my artistic practice because I am reminded daily the value of childhood imagination and process-based learning. I also try to build awareness around sustainability into my curriculum. By introducing eco-art into the classroom, students are building their skills around the environmental consciousness, self sufficiency, and the scientific process. Whether its related to education or artistic practices, I want to stay intentional around everything I do.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Living under capitalism and being a practicing artist feel very much at odds with each other because the basic values of each. Capitalism holds monetary value to the upmost importance which frankly feels really silly and ridiculous. Earlier in my career, I had a man email me inquiring about works I might have for sale as his wife loved my art and he was looking for a gift for her for their anniversary. I sent him some photos and a price list back. He promptly wrote back saying that everything I sent him was listed below his budget and that he wasn’t interested in any of them unless they were more expensive. This infuriating exchange is a perfect example of how capitalism has lead to the corruption and devaluing of art. Untangling my art’s value from its monetary value has been a lesson I have been working on unlearning.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
On a similar note, a lot of my artistic journey recently has been fighting against capitalistic principles. Along with monetary gain, capitalism also pushes our society to value productivity, fast paced exponential growth, and the unsustainable use of resources over love and respect for the world and its people. It is this kind of singular focus that has led us to the modern day environmental crisis of climate change. In a small way, the slowness, inefficiency, and eco-consciousness of my natural ink practice rebels against these corrupt practices.
Contact Info:
- Website: Graceemmet.com
- Instagram: graceemmet_illustration