"PRE-ORDER" From Plant to Pigment, Natalie Stopka

From Plant to Pigment is a lovingly crafted studio manual that invites artists to rediscover the alchemy of colour-making through botanical sources. Natalie Stopka guides readers through the full process—from foraging dye plants to extracting pigments and preparing them as inks, pastels, and paints. Her recipes demystify the technical magic behind stable lake pigments, using practical, hands-on chemistry alongside poetic consideration for ecological craft and creative connection.

More than a technical handbook, the book cultivates intentional artistry. With chapters on cultivating and foraging dye plants, setting up a “studio larder,” mastering lake pigment fundamentals (including her signature recipe), and crafting artists’ materials, the volume doubles as both creative manifesto and practical laboratory—empowering makers to replace synthetic colour with a palette rooted in natural rhythm and meaning.

About the Author
Natalie Stopka is an artist, educator, and botanical colour alchemist whose practice fuses studio, garden, and ecological care. Known for creating pigments from plants she grows and forages, she integrates place-based knowledge, non-toxic chemistry, and visual art—her work blending marbled abstraction with ecological conscience.

Publication date: Publishing October, 2025
Publisher: Skittledog Books
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781837760671