What gives this unique, natural earth pigment its pink coloring is the iron oxide (hematite) that seeps into certain clay beds over time ushering the transformation! The natural quality of this pigment makes it a lovely, permanent, and completely lightfast color.
Pipestone is a muted reddish/pink clay stone found mainly in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Canada. The stone received its name because of its traditional use by Indigenous Peoples who have carved pipes with the material; called calumets. These pipes were used extensively in ceremonies, and the Sioux tribes held pipestone sacred. Even in time of war, the quarries were regarded as neutral ground. Pipestone is sometimes called catlinite, for the artist and author George Catlin, who lived amongst the Plains Nations in the 1800’s.
*PLEASE NOTE* The harder minerals found in Pipestone make the pigment a bit more gritty than CfM's other pigments, and provides the color with a unique texture and semi-transparency.
Materials: pigment mixed with watercolor binding medium made from distilled water, glycerin, honey, and gum arabic (sap from the acacia tree)
Made by: Case for Making
Made in: San Francisco, CA, USA
Specifications: half pan size: 1.9 cm x 1.6 cm x 0.9 cm
PLEASE NOTE: Case for Making watercolors come in the standard half-pan size, which is small! (See dimensions above.) CfM only sells this size because they have found that their paints are so pigment-rich that a little really does go a long way!
Further Reading: Case for Making is a small workshop whose mission is to inspire collective creativity. They make all of their watercolors and letterpress watercolor papers in-house, and they also sell a selection of curated creative supplies.
We invite you to shop our entire selection of Case for Making products here.
