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About:

A Global Perspective

rhizome.resin is the independent practice of ethnobotanist Krisa Fredrickson.

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My work brings together ethnobotanical research, international field and collections experience, plant materials, experimental practice, and public interpretation.

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I develop research projects, workshops, demonstrations, exhibitions, and interpretive programs for museums, cultural institutions, and other audiences.

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My work is strongly informed by research, study, and experience in Japan, Taiwan, Morocco, Polynesia, and the Americas.

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Focus

​​Incense and Scent Culture​

Aromatic plants, tree resins, incense traditions, sensory knowledge, ritual, olfactory memory, and the cultural uses of scent.

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Natural Dyes and Textile Traditions

Plant-derived dyes and textile techniques, plant fibers, traditional technologies, and knowledge transmission.

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Spices and Materia Medica

Plants examined through botany, traditional medicine, sensory properties, cultural practice, trade, foodways.

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Research, Education and Interpretation

Workshops, lectures, demonstrations, research projects, collections-based inquiry, interpretive programs, and institutional collaborations.

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Remembrance and Commemorative Work

Plant- and scent-based projects exploring cultural memory, place, personal history, and legacy.

Selected Public Work

A selection of workshops, programs, exhibitions, and interpretive projects exploring ethnobotany, scent culture, botanical dyes, materia medica, and related plant traditions.​

 

  • Fall Harvest: From Garden to Pantry -The Huntington, 2026

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  • Scent of the Season: Winter -Los Angeles County Arboretum, 2022

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  • Ethnobotanical Exploration of Incense Sacred and Secular -Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, 2019

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  • Tree Resins For Incense -UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, 2018​​​​

EXHIBITIONS and MATERIAL PRESENTATIONS

 

  • Pleasure, Poison, Prescription, Prayer 2019

An exhibit examining the cross-cultural role of scent and scent paraphernalia in medicine, ritual,  and everyday life.

 

  • Historical Japanese Plant Dyes, Tools and Materials

San Francisco Public Library, Japantown. A material-based presentation of Japanese plant dyes,
textile traditions, and dye processes with a display of tools and raw materials.

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