Creating Watercolor Pigment From Food Waste Alumni, Veronica Mangio and Lara Cornell ‘24, recently facilitated a Community hands-on workshop event to support the gift economy: Creating Watercolor Pigment from Food Waste. Here is a recap from Lara of how their thesis work inspired the recent launch of this event.This event served as a perfect bridge between our thesis projects. Veronica's work centered on the gifting economy, and this event brought its principles to life by intertwining the gift of food, provided by the sustainable catering company Chowgirls, with the gift of creativity—my focus on sustainable art and design materials. Together, we celebrated these shared gifts.My thesis explored the development of sustainable art materials, focusing on eliminating petroleum-based products and embracing hyperlocal, regenerative materials to create a circular soil-to-soil system. Collaborating with a farm-to-table organization like Chowgirls brought my research to fruition. By repurposing their food waste to create liquid watercolors for artwork that could later be composted, I was able to fully integrate my thesis into a real-world context. This partnership enabled me to redefine the entire lifecycle of materials and create a soil-to-soil system while seamlessly integrating my commitment to sustainability and innovation in art materials. The outcome of the workshop was truly remarkable. Not only did we create beautiful, sustainable art pieces, eat delicious food and learn new skills, but the process also sparked important conversations about our consumption habits and the impact on the environment.This article was contributed by Lara Cornell, MCAD MASD Alumni ‘24.Thank you, Lara! Categories Sustainable Design Online Courses Biomimicry Published on July 10, 2025