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Rachel

@oakandephemeral

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Artist, natural dyer, distiller, grower
Fine art film photography

Limited edition hydrosol
Botanical printing

POSTS STORIES REELS

God bless the terroir of devotion

dedication against great odds

To finally taste the sweetness of the fruit of a dream after waking to water for days which turn into years

knowing soberly more challenges are to come…

2 years before the pandemic of 2020, two artists fell in love & decided to cultivate a sanctuary of abundance in a Mediterranean climate where it’s bone dry for half the year

On the side a Butte with slopes on all sides, ultra thin soil on top of volcanic rock…

The layer of hardships lived through the last 7 years has taught me just a little bit about the part of me that endures …I call it my Oak

Through a wildfire that wiped out my community, a traumatic birth, raising a child in isolation during the pandemic, farming in isolation, breastfeeding on top of depletion, becoming chronically ill for 5 of those 7 years

trying to heal in isolation within a broken healthcare system while being under resourced

I almost didn’t survive it…but I did & I am

Every year I have this dream of sharing the silver lining of all this toil and struggle ~ alchemized through my creative soul, the natural world & Gods spirit

After spending 44 years in the company of my dad Ray Kruger @raykrugerartspirit I can tell you confidently, great art is not made at a paint and sip..it’s made in the cauldron of suffering, awakening, death and rebirth

Speaking of alchemy ~ I’ve been distilling beautiful Hydrosols / floral waters to share with you all

Get ready to be kissed by 1000 flowers

~ Rachel of Oak & Ephemeral

(Footage from this spring) by @oakandephemeral

Water, moisture and fluids (yin) are so needed here, especially after a long summer

I’m delighted to share this 100 % pure bouquet of 3 different botanical waters, single-origin from our Mediterranean zone farm. Everything in these bottles is grown with organic practices, hand harvested & distilled by us.

Our oil intact hydrosols are carefully distilled using a copper vessel, and are never the byproduct of essential oil extraction.

Our hydrosols are distilled using fresh plant material that not only allows all the volatiles, but most importantly, the cellular water from the living plant. It is this cellular water, imbued with nourishing minerals and fatty acids, that make it dynamic and vibrant compared to using dried material with a resulting loss of those important aromatic molecules.

Hydrosols are slightly acidic, with a Ph range of 4.8-5.9, depending on your botanical material. Our skin has a naturally acidic pH, creating an “acid mantle” that regulates healthy production of sweat and fatty acids. Production of these components creates a protective veil, helping your skin fight unwanted microbes and surface contaminants. A well balanced ph keep skin healthy and protecting itself.

Hydrosols are safe & gentle aromatherapy, suitable for most skin types. They are also a profound way to experience and appreciate the life force of the plants distilled and the terroir of the environment that they come from. When I spray myself with our lavender hydrosol, I always feel the multitude of fuzzy vandyke bumble bees, the common buckeye butterfly and the grey hair streak ..not to mention the masses of visiting honey bees. …I hope you can feel it too. This is why in one of my latest post, I wrote about the terroir of devotion. There’s a hefty dose of our lives and farm in every bottle I share with you.

None of this would be possible without the daily devotion of our effort. We hand water much of our gardens..sometimes in 100 degrees or more. We grow most of our gardens to benefit and support all local life. About 90 % of our gardens are left unharvested. When you support our small farm, you support wild LIFE & a vibrant pollinator sanctuary in a semi desert

….. by @oakandephemeral

2026 Rose & Rose geranium hydrosol is now available !

https://oakandephemeral.net/

🥀

I am thrilled to announce that my dear friend @lizzymama8 owner of @milkhoney1860 is offering Oak & Ephemeral hydrosol in their beautiful farm store and on website

http://milkhoney1860.com

🥀

Feel the flowers !

🫶🏽 Rachel by @oakandephemeral

Hi, I’m Rachel,

Multifaceted, creative woman - Survivor of so much trauma, most currently dedicated to fully recovering from a chronic illness and autoimmune disease.

For the last almost 8 years, alongside raising my son ~ I’ve been cultivating a farm - flower, food / nature sanctuary with my family in Northern California

Oak & Ephemeral was born out of a desire to share my art and the evolving work of my / our hands and support our co creative way of life. Im also passionate about supporting other artists and have so enjoyed expanding my community network this last year…Very grateful for the capacity to feel well enough (Thank you God ! Thank you perseverance Thank you TCM)

Our nature sanctuary supports a rich cornucopia of wild life in the midst of a semi desert, Mediterranean climate that is without rain for half the year

We grow, harvest & distill vibrant, botanical Hydrosols to nourish your skin & self care

You can find our products and learn more about us here - https://oakandephemeral.net/

We also offer an array of own root roses and other perennials through our small nursery @_goldenhillsnursery

After many years of keeping my film photography, mostly quiet and to myself, I am very excited to announce that I will be offering, limited edition, fine art prints of my work in the very near future 🙌🏽 !

More exciting developments and projects incoming 💌

Thank you for all your encouragement & for being here

Happy Autumn ! Xo

Heath & Rachel by @oakandephemeral

Painted by incredible mom, Christine Kruger.

My mom is the reason I’m a gardener and cultivar of plants. Growing up she always had things sprouting on the windowsills..seeds in jars, mints sending white shoots magically into water..as well as whatever would grow in our red, clay soil.

The lemon verbena she gave me almost 10 years ago has become like a small tree in my garden..The rosemary is a grandmother too

My first interest in flowers were from the pages of botany books she brought home from thrift stores. The long stamen and the anthers …these divine reproductive drawings captivate me to this day.

She’s always been a collector of treasures, animate and inanimate…even when she sleeps she’s doing interesting things

Perhaps her most endearing superpower is when she meets you, you are the most important person she’s eve met..her esteem for others is unparalleled.

Love you mom by @oakandephemeral

Rachel at Table Mt. 2001. Acrylic on Canvas

My daughter Rachel often accompanied Chris and I on these Plein aire expeditions. She too became addicted to these experinces. She was in her own world, designing her statement. She is endowed with superior visual judgement.

This landscape would not have been complete without her presence. The hill behind her needed to be interrupted by her head and straw hat. Also we needed something white to appear for value contrast. The inky water of the ephemeral stream would be our dark shape against sunlit grass. It’s just as well that there wasn’t a profusion of flowers because now we can capitalize on the shape of the land, that has been sculpted out for our minds to be quited.

The man made world is a cluttering mess. Our spirit hungers for calmness and here it is, right before us. Even the shortened, well grazed grass with its multitude of tones lends itself to calm. the only thing missing is a piece classical music with mostly violin.

I would then sob uncontrollably as this experience unfolds before me. Will I ever be the same ? The answer is I will be forever changed.

Ray Kruger 8/16/24 by @oakandephemeral

After nearly a 10 year hiatus from plein air painting (after an 80 year legacy as an artist) My 93 year old father painted in my garden for 2 hours in the July heat.

Some of the most important memories spent with my dad are plein air painting local scenes, followed by critiquing our works over Chinese food at Tong Fong Low

My dad always said when we were on location, “This It is a time of extraordinary existence “

I can’t tell you how happy I was to see him paint again ! He has been saying, “ Oh, I can’t paint anymore “

Afterwards, He said “That was so much fun”

Follow @raykrugerartspirit for updates on his 80 years as an American painter by @oakandephemeral

7 years , I’ve been capturing all the secret garden details on film

Garden inhabitants ~ 2025 by @oakandephemeral

There’s a local gem just down the way from me. When you go through their gates, you are certainly time traveling …& greeted by an immense feeling of home

Elizabeth @lizzymama8 is the visionary, artist, mother, gardener, goat & rose lady, maker and many other titles for the hats she wears, but she and her family are the creators behind @milkhoney1860

Many years ago, Elizabeth bought an old 1860 house ( needing unimaginable work and renovation) She and her family have been transforming this house into a light filled, living art project…even the walls and floors are beautiful ! What she has created with blood sweat & tears and the help of her six children is beyond remarkable.

There’s even a store that’s open each Saturday where you can come and see for yourself and marvel at the farm to table products including lotion and soap made from their goats milk, hand made dolls, hand made wool knit items and so much more.

This last Saturday @milkhoney1860 held a class on soap and lotion making, and it was a wonderful time for all

🤍 🐐 🦚 🥀 by @oakandephemeral

Some of my favorite shots from the Autumn flight series in the dreamy light of last Fall.

First 2 images are film. The rest are phone BTS

Eli had taken a fall in the wood pile and scraped under his eye. 🥲 After some tears, he wanted to join me under the butterfly veil for some photos

A few years ago we had a passion flower plant that was covered in Gulf fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly with black markings, known for its long, narrow wings and silver spots on the underside, and is often called the “passion butterfly” because its caterpillars feed exclusively on passionflower vines (Passiflora)

Eli and I collected deceased butterflies and saved them in a jar

This was their last flight before we laid them in the compost

#colorfilm #fuji #makeart by @oakandephemeral

Logwood infused botanical print on raw silk 🥀 from the most incredible winter session in my seasonal greenhouse studio ~ I am swooning over and over at the exquisite lace of the queen Anne impression. Can you spot the budding mugwort curl ? by @oakandephemeral

Spring being blessings 2026 by @oakandephemeral