Since receiving her BFA from California College of the Arts in 2016, Elissa Callen has spent her last few years working with and researching plants with the goal of developing a better understanding of how to nurture and harvest pigment from them. She grows her own color in her backyard garden and also forages for it in both the wilderness and urban areas. After collecting, the plant (or occasionally earthen) material is processed into ink or powdered pigment form and then used as the staple material of her work. She is also interested in exploring the possibilities of plant-based resources as fundamental building blocks of installation. She currently lives in Berkeley and works as a gardener and landscaper.