From the Earth collection 2026
- Storm Lahiff
- May 1
- 3 min read
From the Earth
I’m excited to share the release of my new body of work, From the Earth.
This collection has unfolded slowly, shaped by time spent outdoors and a growing need to work more closely with the materials beneath my feet. It began with a simple shift—stepping away from ready-made mediums and returning to the ground itself.
Gathering
This work starts in the landscape. Our property in the Mountains of the Great Dividing Range, Queensland Australia.
Walking, observing, collecting—small fragments of earth gathered by hand. Colour appears quietly at first: then I started to revisit areas after the rain and at different times of the day, The different colour tempuratures of the light would reveal pigments I hadn't seen on prevoius visits. My eyes became highly attuned to the changes in earths hues. I couldn't believe the amount of pigment the earth offers on our property.
Grinding & Making Pigment
I ground the rocks by hand into fine pigment. Storing them in jars in my studio.
Some samples were soft and easily crush to a fine powder, others needed a sledge hammer to crush. The colour remains true until the binder is added, at this stage some hues deepen, some remain the same. I love to think about the conditions that created the composition of these rocks, the minerals within the soil. What was once a fragment of ground becomes something else entirely, yet holds its origin.
At times, small amounts of copper carbonate are introduced as a mineral pigment, expanding the palette while remaining grounded in the material language of the work.
I have experimemted with a few binders my favorite and the one that the pigment clings strongly to the canvas is a pine sap binder I created myself, from naturally weeping pine trees.
Forming the Work
The pigments are then bound onto a cotton canvas, layers are built up responding to texture and surface, memories of my interpretation of the earth.
Each piece is mounted on reclaimed timber, sourced from naturally fallen radiator pine from my property. The boards are cut, shaped, and sanded by hand. They are not simply a support—they are part of the work itself.
Surface and structure exist together. The timber holds its own history; the pigment carries the memory of place.
Material & Meaning
These works are formed from the earth itself—wild pigments, hand-ground from the landscape, combined with mineral-based materials, brought together into a single surface.
There is no separation between concept and material. The land is not only referenced—it is physically present.
Holding Onto Something
At its core, this collection is a quiet attempt to hold onto something fleeting.
To honour the land with care and attention. To slow down enough to notice what is often overlooked. In a time where many of us feel increasingly distant from the natural world, these works offer a way to remain close.
They are not large or imposing. Instead, they exist as small, tactile pieces—something to live with, to sit beside, to return to.
A Small Presence
A fragment of earth, gathered and given form.
Nature brought into our technological homes, a quiet reminder of its awe.Something to live with, and return to.
Each work is designed to be hung in the orientation I have intended; however, collectors are invited to embrace the direction that feels most natural to them. As a piece of the earth, each work can be experienced from many angles.
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