About Stone Watercolors

by Michelle Church

Many years ago native Americans used red hematite as pigment for dye and paint. While living in the Osage valley my family found many native American artifacts including several pieces of red hematite. Some of the pieces were "worked" or incised indicating they had been used by native people. Some pieces were plain, but as red hematite in this form is not native where it was found, it stands to reason that those pieces were also left by the various people using the area as campsites, along with arrowheads and other artifacts.

I began using these plain pieces to paint with, not wanting to harm the pieces that had already been worked by another's hand. I carefully scraped the rock, gathering the fine powdered pigment and then picked it up with small brushes and water, using it to create the landscapes I so love. I feel that this is not only a way to honor my ancestors but also a way to honor the earth and the creator in the form of organic artwork.

About Red Hematite

Hematite (Fe2O3, Iron Oxide) is among the oldest pigments known to humankind and has been used by every major civilization. Red hematite, known as "red ochre", has been used for cave paintings, face paint, body paint, paint pigment, and even currently in lip-stick. The name comes from a Greek word meaning hema, meaning blood because of the color of its powder. The ancients believed that large deposits of hematite formed from battles that were fought and the subsequent blood that flowed into the ground. Hematite is an iron ore. Iron was the metal of Mars, the Roman god of war, because weapons were made of iron, and red Hematite was the color of blood. The planet Mars is red, and interestingly, it has been discovered that this is because of the iron oxides on the surface of the planet.

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