Hi Michał, we’re in Novigrad, Croatia. Do you happen to know what that rusty-looking stuff is?
– Yes. That’s terra rossa. A product of karst weathering, rich in iron and aluminum.

A seven-liter mineral water bottle, a teaspoon, a bit of space in the trunk – and the terra rossa is on its way to the studio.
It waits its turn to be crushed and sieved – that’s how I get a consistent grain.
Then I grind it, in case anything in the mix resists breaking down.
Next comes boiling – an easy way to get rid of any tiny living things and disinfect the material with high heat.
Finally, sieving again helps purify the pigment.
That’s when the frog turns into a princess.