Vignettes: Botanical Illustration

What does it mean to truly see the natural world and create a faithful transformation of 3D natural forms to 2D? Biology professor Kirsten Coe, a plant ecophysiologist, and Vermont artist Kate Gridley teamed up over winter term to offer a course on artistic techniques for capturing plant forms using a variety of artistic methods, including graphite, charcoal, silver point, ink, and watercolor. In the field, at the microscope, and back in the studio, students explored a diversity of living plant specimens representing the broad scale of botanical diversity—from the shapes of trees to the cells of mosses. Their challenge was to develop scientifically accurate, publication-quality illustrations in a feedback-rich studio environment.