Place-Based Eco Art

Lou Schad, founder of Dirty Folk, is a place-based artist creating art made from and in worship of nature. Her work is often made from foraged earth and plant materials. She lives and travels from Los Alamos, California.

Wild Foraged Paintings

Place-based paintings using natural dyes, wild earth sediment, ash, and coal.

Botanical Paintings

Created with eco-paint on organic canvas, mounted on and framed with salvaged & reclaimed wood.

A framed painting of a bouquet of small white daisies with yellow centers, with a butterfly on the right side, set against a dark background.
Watercolor painting of white flowers with long stems and green leaves against a pastel background.
A painting of yellow and orange flowers with green leaves in a dark pot.
Abstract painting of a floral bouquet on a pastel pink background with splashes of green, purple, and white.
Watercolor painting of five purple flowers with green and yellow stems and leaves on a light pink background.
Watercolor painting of purple thistle flowers and yellow and white wildflowers on a pink textured background.
A painting of wildflowers, mostly white with yellow centers, on a yellowish textured background.
Painting of wild daisies and dark foliage against a muted, cloudy background.
Watercolor painting of a bouquet of wildflowers including daisies, thistle, and various leaves on a pink background.
Watercolor painting of wilted flowers on pastel pink paper.

Foraged Wild Clayworks

Found clay sediment, processed with local beach sand. Camp-fired with fallen oak branches.

Burning logs and embers inside a fire pit or fireplace with orange flames and blackened charred wood.
Clay pots and a clay figure on a barbecue grill over fire.
  • A small, rustic clay bowl resting on a wooden surface with a white textured wall in the background, casting a shadow.
  • Three small, weathered clay pots resting on a wooden surface against a white textured wall, with shadows cast on the surface.
  • Two small pottery bowls, one larger with a rough texture and dark interior, and one smaller with a smoother surface and reddish-brown color, placed on a wooden surface with shadows cast from sunlight, against a white painted wood background.
  • Two small, weathered clay pots on a wooden surface, with sunlight casting shadows, placed against a white wooden wall.

Traditional Clayworks

One of a kind pottery, pinch-shaped. Locally kiln fired at Community Clayworks, Buellton, CA.

Two small, empty halves of an eggshell with a textured surface, placed on a yellow surface with shadows cast beside them.
Three small pottery cups and one larger pottery cup on a wooden plank, outdoors.
Close-up of a small, cream-colored ceramic cup with vertical grooves at the base, placed on a wooden surface with a blurred dark background.
A person holding a handmade ceramic mug with both hands.
Three small ceramic cups with a crackled white glaze on a weathered wooden surface, filled with a dark liquid.