Welcome!

My name is Franziska, and I am a multidisciplinary artist, color alchemist and educator.

My practice

Drawing on ecofeminism, alchemy, systems change, and ancient crafts, my practice is an act of devotion to the natural world — a way of listening, honoring, and giving voice to what has been forgotten or silenced.

I move between painting, collage, photography, and performance, yet my deepest love lies in the ritual of creating and painting with natural pigments. I collaborate with stones, soils, plants, and fungi, transforming them into vibrant color — and in turn, allowing myself to be transformed into new, living forms. My works reveal the hidden stories of a place, honoring the materials, landscapes, and people from which they are born.

Because my practice involves extraction, reciprocity is essential. I share my knowledge through workshops, creating spaces where communities — human and more-than-human alike — can express, heal, and reconnect.

After journeys through Vienna, Singapore and Milan, and Cairo, I now work between my hometown in the Mürztal Valley of Austria and the Sinai peninsula in Egpyt, where nature offers me daily inspiration.

My background

After studying International Business I’ve spent the last 10 years immersed in the business world, as moderator and entrepreneur. Yet four years ago during a very transformative to Egypt, my inner artist reawakened and since then I devote as much time as possible to my art practice.

I also hold a degree in Art History from the University of Vienna, which has provided a foundation of historical context for my practice. My path as an artist is largely self-directed, guided by curiosity and a deep reverence for the materials themselves, complemented by specialized courses and immersive study.

Alongside formal study, I have been shaped by courses at the the School of Traditional Art London, the Schuhmacher Colledge, the Art Academy Bad Reichenhall, the Academy at Castle Goldegg, Dartington Trust, and through art residencies in the Sinai desert of Egypt.

I am deeply grateful to have learned from incredible teachers, such as Dr. David Cranswick (the Alchemy of Colour), Caroline Ross (Found and Ground Art Materials), Tilke Elkins (Being With Pigments), and the Tarabeen, Muzeina, and Jebeliya Bedouin communities of Sinai. Their generosity, wisdom, and profound connection to the land continue to guide and inspire every facet of my work.

Find me on Instagram

Ochre has me spellbound—its hues and formations are traces of deep time, shaped tens of millions of years ago. To me, these formations are works of art: nature’s own paintings, etched with the textures, tones, and spirit of the land. The
Lovely people, my name is Fran—the heart and hands behind The Alchemista. My practice is woven from threads of color and pigments, the wisdom of nature, the forgotten beauty of old crafts, the voices of ecofeminism, and the hidden treasures o