Polly Bennett
Sarah Davis
1. What were your first impressions about the pigments and packaging?
Nice sturdy box.
I really enjoyed the paper sheet with the circles and painted samples. It was a caring
touch that allowed me to engage more with the pigments from the start. It also helped
me to find the right consistency when making the pigments into water colour paint. The
glass jars work well and the labels are clear. The vials look nice on my shelf which is an
added bonus as I like to have materials out and easy to access and contribute to an
overall aesthetically pleasing work space.
2. How did you use the pigments? Have you learnt new skills in regards to how
you use pigments?
I used the pigments to make watercolour paints. I have enhanced my skills here by
experimenting with the balance between medium and dry pigment. I also added chalk to
experiment with gouache making which I had not done before.
3. Did the pigment feel different from commercial pigments you have used?
The pigments look and feel much more organic and connected to history. The colours
are quite muted which I really enjoy. A lot of the highly processed commercial colours
I've used before can feel a bit artificial and too bright for my chosen approach.
4. Did you notice anything about flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation?
The Madder was very soft and had a slightly gel-like consistency. I enjoyed building up
layers here and experimenting with the transparency. Adding chalk to make a madder rose was a very satisfying experiment and the added opacity worked very well for painting large areas.
The Hematite was a surprise in how smooth and opaque it was, the colour is rich and worked well for the technique where I use fine individual brush strokes to build up colours and contours.
The Mussel Shell pigment was very granulated which didn't really work for my style of painting, which is typically very smooth and precise. The colour is beautiful though so I will experiment again but potentially sieve the pigment and do some additional grinding of it when dry.
Bone Brown had an interesting balance of transparent and opaque, I loved the smell when processing it. I used it a bit more like an ink which was a pleasant surprise as I thought it would be too granulated but did in fact grind very smooth.The burnt sienna ground to a very smooth and satisfying brown.
5. How, if at all, have you connected with the pigments? Does their handmade or
‘natural’ origin affect this?
The pigments have been really transformative for my practice, I feel a lot more
connected to the work I make through this layer of environmental tangibility. I had made
paint before but have really enjoyed diving deeper into the process and would be
reluctant to use pre-made paints after this collaboration. I also feel closer to my
medieval counterparts, which will aid both my art practice and illumination teaching.
6. There were three popular pigment choices; Mussel Shell, Verditer Winter Blues, and Hematite. You chose Hematite, what drew you to it?
The Hematite was a rich and appealing browny-red and I knew this would suit my
themes of the body and flesh. The fact it is also sometimes called ‘Blood stone’ was
very appealing.
The Mussel Shell pigment was such a beautiful colour and I was intrigued by its coarse
texture.
7. Has the addition of handmade pigments positively affected your work?
Yes! Very much so, I have loved this collaboration and it was the perfect push I needed
to integrate hand ground pigments and paint making into my practice.
8. Will you continue to use handmade pigments going forward?
I definitely will. The next step will be processing materials to create my own pigments.
9. Did anything surprise you about the pigments?
The Hematite was a big surprise in how smooth it went.
I was also intrigued by the Bone rown which had such an earthyness that worked beautifully for subtle tonal work.
The Mussel Shell pigment took a lot of grinding but did enjoy how wonderful the colour
was.
Kerrie Hanna
1. What were your first impressions about the pigments and packaging?
Loved the packaging, very easy to use, and solid lids.
2. How did you use the pigments? Have you learnt new skills in regards to how you use pigments?
I used the pigments with water and gum arabic. I did try honey too but not so keen on the 'sheen'.
Gum arabic washes are the most enjoyable to work with.
3. Did the pigment feel different from commercial pigments you have used?
Yes, there is variation in the pigments, which is absolutely to be expected - so you have to be respectful of each pigment and how it works, there are differences. I found the Verditer, Clay and Hematite the most pigment rich and I found the particles easy to mix, I found the Mussel Shell quite grainy, a little harder to mix, I found the Madder almost a little water resistant, it took a little while to get going and was quite subtle, but absolutely beautiful tone.
4. Did you notice anything about flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation?
Again and again I am drawn back to the Hematite - it had such a nice flow to work with, rich colour, which faded into many beautiful tones.
Best for flow - Hematite
Best for coverage - Hematite
Best for transparency & build-ability - Verditer
Best for granulation - Mussel Shell
5. How, if at all, have you connected with the pigments? Does their handmade or ‘natural’ origin affect this?
I LOVED these pigments, and they have inspired me to develop a whole new body of work which is environmentally conscious, using the tones to explore World Building.
6. There were three popular pigment choices; Mussel Shell, Verditer Winter Blues, and Hematite. You chose all three, what drew you to them?
Mussel Shell - loved the violet tone, and had never seen a shell pigment before - very interesting!
Verditer - beautiful tone, especially against the orange of the Hematite. A brilliant coupling of colours across the colour wheel, in my opinion.
Hematite - LOVE stone based colours, iron rich colours - great coverage, great pigments, I'm a big fan of Ochre so this was a similar
vibe, and has become a clear favourite,
​
will definitely invest in more 'stone' based pigments going forward.
7. Has the addition of handmade pigments positively affected your work?
YES! it enriches the storyline of the work, embeds the thought of eco-conscious themes, and it feels so
precious - the energy, intention, care which has gone into each colour makes the pigment very precious to me and makes me think more deeply about how best to use it.
8. Will you continue to use handmade pigments going forward?
ABSOLUTELY. I will certainly be investing in more POLBEN’s Pigments, and am delighted to be on this path with my work. Loving it.
9. Did anything surprise you about the pigments?
It is more a 'getting to know them' process, than surprises, I enjoyed how each pigment felt quite different and I enjoyed the process of exploring them all.
Muireann Nic an Bheatha
1. What were your first impressions about the pigments and packaging?
Love the packaging! Especially for the bottle, with the wax seal. I like that there was paper with samples of the pigments on it. The packaging felt very sustainable.
2. How did you use the pigments? Have you learnt new skills in regards to how you use pigments?
I tried using them for colouring my bioplastics. I tried creating uniform colours and then also enjoyed experimenting with combining the pigments with my own natural pigments. As the pigments did not completely dissolve in the biomaterials, I was interested in how they gave them a more subtle colour, with some of the powder remaining in the biomaterial. This gave the biomaterials a more natural, earthy look.
The Mussel Shell, I chose as I was excited by their source. I felt they may not work with the biomaterials and they did not produce such a strong colour. It was a light grey/lilac. At the same time, I quite liked this colour in the end. Will maybe reserve them for painting in the future.
3. Did the pigment feel different from commercial pigments you have used?
I have moved away from using too many commercial pigments. I sometimes use food colouring, or mica in my work. Those colours are bright but there is also something 'fake' to them. With the pigments, I was surprised how bright they are despite being natural. As with a lot of natural pigments, I was interested in how slightly different recipes can change the colour completely. There was still something natural and beautiful to the pigments which I think reflected their source.
4. Did you notice anything about flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation?
I liked how the pigments dyed the bioplastics a colour but also left some grains in them, making it look like sediment, giving it a natural look. I had to use a lot of the verditer winter blues to dye the bioplastics, I almost used it all on the first piece. With experimentation I felt that it was actually better to pour in a little bit and only dye parts of the bioplastics instead of the whole.
5. How, if at all, have you connected with the pigments? Does their handmade or ‘natural’ origin affect this?
I am excited by their potential. At the moment I have only used them in biomaterials, but I want to try them with papermaking, painting, paper sculptures and other biomaterials. I am interested in how they work differently to the natural pigments I usually use.
6. There were three popular pigment choices; Mussel Shell, Verditer Winter Blues, and Hematite. You chose Mussel Shell and Verditer Winter Blues, what drew you to them?
I was drawn to blue/cold colours as these are the pigments I find the most difficult to create or find myself. I find they do not appear as much in nature. I loved the purple of the shells and their source as sea shells and felt even if they do not work as a dye for my biomaterials, they could present an interesting research thread for future work. Especially as I use a lot of shells in my own work. With the winter blues I just wanted to try a bright blue colour!
7. Has the addition of handmade pigments positively affected your work?
Definitely more excited about pigments hand created from nature and would love to learn one day how to develop my own. I am inspired by the different pigment sources out there that can be used. At the moment I mainly use plant materials and food waste. Excited about the possibility of creating pigments in a lab or collecting them from rocks. It was great to get to use these pigments and skip probably months or years of learning to try and develop my own, as dye creation is not the sole focus of my work at the moment. I am also inspired by the conversation we had and learning how pigments can be extracted from road kill and other interesting sources. This has definitely opened up a new world for me, and I hope I will continue to learn as I develop further works with the pigments.
8. Will you continue to use handmade pigments going forward?
I really like the pigments and want to experiment further with them! I feel this is just the beginning of my experimentation. I had ideally wanted to create biomaterials coloured with the pigments which I could then begin to weave, but the biomaterials dried quite hard and could not be used for this. I am experimenting further with creating biomaterials that are more textile like. I have also started to do a kind of recycled paper sculpting using a bio-glue and recycled paper which I want to try dying with the natural pigments. This year I am also very into eco-printing and excited to use the pigments further for this work, as I really liked the eco-print I created using the pigments!
9. Did anything surprise you about the pigments?
I was surprised how different ways of working with the pigments affected their colour. For example, in biomaterials they kept quite true to their original colours. I also eco-printed with the pigments and here the greens turned quite yellow, and the blues were a kind of greyish blue. I am now eager to find out how they colour recycled paper. It shows you that natural dyes change depending on the medium, especially when it comes to biomaterials.
Anousha Payne
1. What were your first impressions about the pigments and packaging?
Very simple, neat, clean packaging. I like how it was packaged and presented.
2. How did you use the pigments? Have you learnt new skills in regards to how you use pigments?
I ground them further mixing them with clove oil, honey and gum Arabic to make them into watercolours. I used a glass muller and a sheet of glass as I would usually grind pigments. Yes - I got more familiar with the process of grinding and making watercolours. I used them mostly for paper works but also for some paintings on cotton and silk.
3. Did the pigment feel different from commercial pigments you have used?
Yes! I found them easier to turn into watercolours, in that some commercial pigments I have used are difficult to bind with the gum Arabic, and aren’t as soluble. These pigments spread more smoothly, had a better bind with the medium and spread more equally.
4. Did you notice anything about flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation?
Yes - the coverage felt as though it spread more easily, and it was easier to get a more dense colour than with commercial paints - they felt I loved the colour of the synthesised copper. It was interesting how much it changed when oxidised (Once I mixed it with the binder I didn’t seal the container) but I like that there are two colours that can come from the one pigment.
5. How, if at all, have you connected with the pigments? Does their handmade or ‘natural’ origin affect this?
I think knowing the origin of the pigments changes them completely - to think of the Sussex mud whilst painting, to see the landscape in a watercolour - especially with the series I was painting being based on a woman turning into a moth; it’s important to think about the previous life of the material; for example bone black, a life has gone into this.
6. There were three popular pigment choices; Mussel Shell, Verditer Winter Blues, and Hematite. You chose Hematite, what drew you to it?
I was drawn to hematite because of its association as a ‘blood stone’ and having grounding or protective qualities. The fact it has a historical connection to a healing purpose as well as the aesthetic association with blood is interesting to me.
7. Has the addition of handmade pigments positively affected your work?
Yes - they have brought more physical dept of colour; and knowing where the material comes from is an important part of developing a more sustainable practise.
8. Will you continue to use handmade pigments going forward?
Definitely.
9. Did anything surprise you about the pigments?
The ease of use, depth and range of colour.
Grace Green
1. What were your first impressions about the pigments and packaging?
I thought the packaging was thoughtful, and I could tell you had carefully considered using biodegradable materials. The little pots of pigment felt precious and timeless, with an apothecary-like quality that made the parcel feel almost magical. The glass jars allowed me to clearly see the colour and texture of the pigments.
I also really valued the personalised swatch test card you made with my chosen pigments. I referred to it often when experimenting with colour, density, and different mediums.
2. How did you use the pigments? Have you learnt new skills in regard to how you use pigments?
To begin with, I mixed the pigments with a range of binders including water, walnut oil, linseed oil, gum arabic, and a natural plant-based acrylic medium, egg tempera creating my own testing card. I was new to working in this way, using different mediums, binders, and natural pigments so this process involved a lot of experimentation and learning. I also bought myself a paint muller, which was something I had wanted to try, and this collaboration gave me the opportunity to develop those skills. Polly’s recipe advice beforehand was also really helpful in guiding my first tests.
I chose to work on organic cotton rag paper to begin my investigation, as I wanted to reduce variables and better understand how the pigments behaved. Having recently completed a Masters in Fine Art (2025–2026), where I specialised in monotype printmaking, I am now back in my studio in Somerset. Recently, I’ve been focusing on the trees outside the studio, particularly the light moving through them as the seasons change. It felt fitting to explore this subject using natural earth pigments, as the materials themselves connect closely to landscape and environment.
4. Did you notice anything about flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation?
Yes, I noticed the pigment had a strong granulation, with visible particles remaining present in the paint rather than disappearing into a flat surface. The flow felt less predictable than commercial paint and responded directly to water, pressure, and how much it was worked.
The coverage built up gradually rather than evenly, creating areas of variation in density and tone. It gave the surface a sense of movement and accumulation, as if it was forming slowly rather than being fixed immediately. The texture stayed visible throughout, which made the material presence of the pigment an important part of the image. I like that I am able to control the pigments flow, coverage, transparency, or granulation much more while binding the mediums together. At first I felt a bit daunted by the possibilities but now I am starting to understand them I have more freedom to dictate the qualities of the paint.
5. How, if at all, have you connected with the pigments? Does their handmade or ‘natural’ origin affect this?
I felt more connected to the pigments because I was involved in making them as well as using them. Grinding them, adjusting their consistency, and watching how they behaved made me more aware of colour and its ability to changed and shaped further than just the flow.
I also enjoyed seeing the specks of pigment sitting in the paint like grains of sand, dust, or even stars in a night sky. It made me think about scale and material - that what we experience as a single colour is made up of countless tiny particles coming together. It created a sense of everything being built from matter in motion, both very physical and slightly vast at the same time.
The pigments felt like they carried something of their origin with them, traces of place, process, and time. The handmade quality made this more present for me, and it changed how I relate to colour, as something formed through attention, repetition, and accumulation.
While mixing the paint I thought of Polly collecting the materials and where they had come from. I really enjoyed listening to Polly explain them to me before which I felt drew me in to certain pigments through narrative.
6. There were three popular pigment choices; Mussel Shell, Verditer Winter Blues, and Hematite. You chose Mussell Shell and Verditer Winter Blues, what drew you to them?
Mussel Shells : I saw a different colour every time I looked, from grey to blue, purple, the shimmer of the inside of the mussel shell. I was drawn to granular build up which gave me the ‘vast’ feeling most in this pigment. It looked like a little moon in the circular swatch !
Verditer Winter Blues : The bright, vibrant blue-green felt fresh and lively!
7. Has the addition of handmade pigments positively affected your work?
Yes, absolutely. Using the pigments has encouraged me to be more present at the beginning stages of painting, rather than arriving at the paper or canvas and working almost immediately. The process of preparing the pigments slows me down and invites me to think more carefully about colour, texture, and tone. This has become a reflective moment, allowing me to consider my intentions for the work more thoughtfully before I begin.
I am also enjoying the surfaces and subtler tones that the earth pigments create. They feel quieter and more grounded, and the visible texture adds another layer of meaning to the work. I’m interested in how these handmade pigments sit alongside other materials I use, particularly when contrasted with more vibrant or commercially produced colours. The interaction between these different materials creates a dialogue within the piece, where variations in texture, intensity, and origin deepen the overall conversation in the work.
8. Will you continue to use handmade pigments going forward?
Yes ! Thank you for introducing them to me.
9. Did anything surprise you about the pigments?
I was interested in learning the process of turning the pigment into paint, and I was surprised by how much pigment I could add to create depth of colour. At first my mixtures were quite pale and watery, but through experimenting I began to understand how to control this.
It made me more aware of how colour is built, and how small changes in the mixture can affect both the tone and texture.