From Pigment to Work: Tradition, Materials and Contemporary Expression

Presented by: ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture 

Mentor: Clara Lotta Dittmer 

Venue: C/ Espronceda 326, Naves 4–5, 08027 Barcelona 

Date: Friday, 15 May 2026 

Time: 11:00–14:00 

Fee: Free of charge 

Register here

Limited places: 7–10 participants. To ensure a diverse and engaged group, places will be confirmed by email following a brief review of applications. We recommend applying as soon as possible. Registration deadline: 11 May. 

A practice exploring the relationship between traditional material techniques and contemporary artistic expression.

Are you an artist or creative professional interested in working with traditional materials, exploring colour from its origin, and engaging in a practice-based exchange with an experienced mentor?

From Pigment to Work is a craft mentorship workshop organised by ESPRONCEDA – Institute of Art & Culture as part of the European project Hands Across Generations (H.A.G.). The session forms part of a series of six intergenerational mentorship workshops that Espronceda implements as the Spanish partner of the H.A.G. project.

About the workshop

Before the industrial paint tube existed, every artist made their own materials. Mixing a pigment, binding an agent, preparing a support: this is knowledge passed down through gesture and practice, from person to person. In this workshop, we return to that origin.

With Clara Lotta Dittmer — a painter and cellist whose work explores the translation of sound into colour — you will learn to make your own colours from scratch by mixing powder pigments with acrylic medium. A manual, slow and precise process that brings historical technique into dialogue with each participant’s contemporary practice.

The workshop is a space for shared practice and dialogue: not a lecture, but an encounter where the mentor transmits technique and the group contributes its own references, memories and perspectives.

74% of craft professionals consider intergenerational mentorship ‘very important’ for the survival of artisanal knowledge. 80% believe young creatives are not prepared to carry that transmission without structured learning spaces. — H.A.G. Sectoral Analysis, 2026

What you will find

•       Artisan technique with history: Mix powder pigments as artists did before the 19th century. Knowledge that is not in any manual.
•       Process and materiality: The value of working slowly, by hand, understanding each material from within.
•       Real mentorship: Direct access to the practice and knowledge of an artist with a significant trajectory. Personal guidance throughout.
•       Intergenerational dialogue: A space where the mentor also learns from the group. Experiences, memories and references that cross.
•       Materials and sustainability: Reflection on the origin of pigments, natural vs. synthetic, and the future of artistic materials.
•       Professional network: Connect with artists and creatives from the Espronceda and H.A.G. European programme community.

Session structure

The workshop follows a four-phase mentorship structure: opening exchange where the group shares its own references before the demonstration; technical demonstration with historical contextualisation of the materials; individual guided practice with facilitated dialogue; and collective reflection at the close. The goal is not the final result but the process — and the knowledge that is activated in conversation.

Who is it for?

•       Visual artists (emerging or mid-career) interested in material technique
•       Professionals with a background in craft or traditional trades
•       Designers interested in materiality and creative process
•       Creatives with a digital practice interested in material techniques
•       Professionals from the creative industries looking to reconnect with artisanal methods

No previous experience with pigments required. Curiosity and openness to exchange are.

About the mentor

Clara Lotta Dittmer. Painter and cellist 

Clara Lotta Dittmer (Hamburg, 1992) is a painter and cellist whose work sits at the intersection of music and the visual arts. Her practice explores the translation of sound into colour, form and space, creating dense and immersive visual compositions. She studied at the HAW Hamburg and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, and has exhibited at institutions including the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Kunstmuseum Bonn. After receiving the Special Prize Art Laguna in Venice, she developed part of her research at Espronceda in 2019. She currently lives and works between Hamburg and Barcelona.

About the H.A.G. project

Hands Across Generations (H.A.G.) is an Erasmus+ project co-funded by the European Union working to preserve intangible craft heritage through intergenerational exchange between experienced artisans and young creatives. Through mentorship workshops in seven European countries, the project creates spaces for the transmission of technical knowledge, cultural reflection and dialogue between generations. This workshop is part of the series of six workshops that Espronceda implements as the Spanish partner of the project.