Meet the Artist: Herbalist Cari Gesch

The creation of art is typically demonstrated with brush strokes, camera flashes, and pencil markings, but to local herbalist Cari Gesch, turning art into a verb involves a plethora of plants, herbs, and passion incorporated into one glorious adventure of health and healing. A resident of The Mt. Hood Villages for the last 13 years, Gesch has immersed herself into the culture that is living in a mountain town, mere miles from a national forest with an abundance of the materials plant lovers crave.

Gesch’s herbal business, Wy’East Woman, not only pays tribute to her craft in the organic ways of plant based medicines, but also gives credit to the mountain she adores and calls home. “I wanted it to be specific to where I live while honoring the indigenous people who were the original inhabitants of the land,” Gesch said. “I feel so blessed to be a part of this mountain community, I feel by incorporating that into the name, it speaks to my identity more than anything,” Gesch added. 

Although Gesch has dabbled in other art forms such as photography, she has found that the act of taking something simple and elevating it in such a way that represents your very essence illustrates the true development of an artist. “This is a true creative outlet for me,” Gesch said. “I just want to share what I do. If I can earn a few bucks to fund more supplies or an adventure, it’s an added bonus, but not something I do for the sole purpose of earning money – as much as I would like to someday do this full time because it truly is my passion,” Gesch added. 

With a ‘need-driven’ motivation to get her products started, Gesch is known around the mountain for her herbal remedies. Specializing in teas, hydrosols, magnesium sprays, infused oils, glycerities, and seasoned salts, Gesch not only creates products for her personal use, but for friends and family and the community of The Mt. Villages. “When I see how well a product works, I want to share it and maybe it will help someone else,” Gesch said. Comparing herself to a chef, Gesch describes the art of making herbal medicines and products as similar to the process of preparing a farm to table meal. “Whenever possible, I use the freshest, locally sourced ingredients in everything I make – sourcing from local farms, the gardens of myself and my friends, and ethical wild harvesting,” Gesch said. “I am committed to highlighting the people who grow the herbs I use, such as Hood Hills Farm, because without them I could not do what I do. It is so important to know where my ingredients come from, and the majority of them I can tell you exactly where and when they were picked,and  by whom, so I know they are at the highest quality. I think that is a lot of what makes me different,” Gesch added.

Honing in on her skills through trial and error, practice and classes, Gesch is always interested in learning new techniques and expanding her plant knowledge. “Plants have always been something I have had an interest in, but it was an elderberry syrup class taught by “Mountain Mel” that really started me exploring this path,” Gesch said. “You never stop learning. There is such a beauty to that with the plants,” Gesch added. For more information on Wy’East Woman’s products follow her on Facebook and Instagram @Wy’EastWoman.