As its name suggests, the Early Futures Ochre Sanctuary collects and preserves hundreds of samples of ochre that vary widely in hue, ranging from deep rust and gold to cool robin’s egg blue. The ever-growing archive is the project of forager, artist, and researcher Heidi Gustafson, who spoke with Colossal managing editor Grace Ebert about the multi-sensory and sometimes uncanny nature of her process, the threat the climate crisis poses to the earth’s stores, and how ochre’s legacy reaches far beyond its alluring color.