Endangered Plants Index Degree Project

I know that I am not alone in feeling like COP26 was a complete COPout.

In spite of the urgent need for direct climate action, global leaders have instead agreed to a pact that “does not achieve the

global aspiration of limiting warming to 1.5C,” (Independent) – despite that being the main agreement in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

The agreements that were made were hampered by lack of political will: ‘”They take important steps, but unfortunately

the collective political will was not enough to

overcome some deep contradictions,”’ (Independent), showing exactly how they are in the pocket of fossil fuel and big business companies…

So despite the Paris Agreement – despite years of campaigning by climate activist, despite PUBLIC WANT AND INTEREST, our leaders have not acted. We need direct and concrete climate action, not just more green washing.

We won’t stop fighting!! #ClimateJusticeNow #UprootTheSystem

Summary of agreement:

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/factbox-whats-glasgow-climate-pact-2021-11-13/

(This post was taken from my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWP-_jfsTl7/)

One major piece of feedback that I have had from my tutorials, has all been to get everything that’s in my head about my project (all of my tasks, people to talk to etc) onto paper, so I have finally done it, and it has been hugely beneficial for me. I have been able to lay everything out very clearly, and I can now see that the actual “art” (the illustration side) is pretty well sorted – I know what I’m doing, I just have to keep going with it and put the time in. The largest amount of work that I have to do is either to do with the rewilding side of the project (certainly the largest number of people I have to contact are to do with the rewilding), or general project related work – such as budgeting etc.

As you can see, I have broken the page down into sections which will be most beneficial for me: plotting out who I need to contact (the largest section), My goals for the project (especially focusing on my end goal – the one which summarises the whole project and which is my essential reason for doing the project) and funding (which is, alongside contacting people) the next biggest thing I have to do.

One of the most useful things was planning the key stages for contacting the people on my list (some, like Frances, this is not applicable to) – as before I actually contact them, I need to plan how they specifically will be able to contribute to the project – what I want I get out of them, the stages of work that I have to go through to actually be able to contact them (e.g. knowing how they can benefit to/from the project, what do I want to get out of talking with them, writing an effective and engaging overview statement, etc), as knowing this before I set out will vastly increase the chances of being successful in contacting them, and creating an effective project in the long term.

Overall, it was a really useful exercise to do, and I will definitely expand it and make more as my project progresses, as it will help me keep track of my goals, where my project is at that moment, and what my next steps will be.

This image is the current progress that I have made on my drawing of the Catacol Whitebeam drawing. There are, of course, a few teething problems with getting back into using the pen and ink method again, such as the pen playing up, the ink being diluted at times and just getting used to the ‘less is more’ style of drawing again.

However – the drawing is progressing well none-the-less, and I am pleased with its progress – it is taking a long time, but it is slowly developing. I am very aware that this is one of my ‘actual’ plants – it is one of the ones on my list, and it therefore feels like there is a bit more pressure on this drawing to be perfect – as it is going to be one of the ‘final’ ones. (Although, due to issues with tracing out, I may end up re-drawing later – but I need to complete this one first, so that I can get on with the rest of my project).

Additionally, I unfortunately (again) spilt another blot of ink onto the drawing. However, this time, it was right at the base of the page, and I will be able to just trim that section of paper off after I complete the drawing, so I am much more relaxed about it, and it feels much less final and disastrous than the one on the Cleyera orbicularis illustration (and its much more within my control!).

Reference Image Source: RBGE. (2018) Royal botanic Gardens Edinburgh Herbarium Catalogue. Available at: https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/?cfg=fulldetails.cfg&specimen_num=637456 (accessed: 11 November 2021)

I am very conscious of the fact that all of my drawings take a very long time to complete, due to the highly detailed nature of them, and that my output of work does need to increase somewhat, if I am to stay on track with my project. I have therefore decided that my first drawing from my ‘official’ list, will be the Catacol Whitbeam or Sorbus Pseudomeinichii. I am drawing the Whitebeam from this photo of a herbarium specimen from the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, which was a bit of a compromise, as I had really wanted to illustrate it with watercolour rather than pen and ink, as I know there is a live specimen in Edinburgh that I could go and see and take photos to illustrate from. Sadly, travelling up to Edinburgh to take photos of one tree wasn’t at all practical for me, and I have had to settle for pen and ink (which I am more confident in anyway) for speed and convenience.

I have chosen to draw the Whitebeam first as a bit of a tactical move – drawing the Whitebeam allows me to then start the activism side of the project – reaching out to environmental campaigners, organisations etc to start a rewinding campaign – beginning in the UK and hopefully expanding outwards. The Catacol Whitebeam is the UK‘s most endangered plant, and brings the focus of my project (for the people I will be contacting) onto UK rewilding.

The above image shows my pencil drawing of the Whitebeam specimen. This was a real learning process, as for this drawing, I decided to try tracing my drawing from a sketchbook page, onto the watercolour paper. However, it didn’t work out at all – the tracings were far too faint to even see, and were just creating imprints on the paper, which I was concerned would ruin the accuracy of the end illustration, as the ink might just fill the imprints. I therefore decided to just use my initial pencil drawing for the basis of my drawing, which does mean that the paper is inconsistent, unfortunately, but the drawing took so long to complete, I knew I wouldn’t have time (or frankly the patience) to re-draw it, and so I have settled to continue with it for the time being.

As I want to share my project with a large audience and for it to go towards building public awareness of the plight of plants globally (but for the rewilding campaign, UK especially), I have stated to create some posts on social media – including this Timelapse video of me outlining the drawing, with a section of the speech that Sir David Attenborough made at COP26 last week (link: https://youtube.com/shorts/A3QRAm560mc?feature=share ).

I really enjoy the format of the Timelapse, as it is engaging (especially in short bursts, as this is), and allows the viewer to feel connected to the process of creating the illustration – as they are able to see it happening in front of them. The only reservation I have, is whether it places too much focus on the process of the drawing and the drawing itself, rather than on the plant – which is, after all, the main focus of my project. This is something I will investigate further, but for the moment, I am happy with it.

Reference Image Source: RBGE. (2018) Royal botanic Gardens Edinburgh Herbarium Catalogue. Available at: https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/?cfg=fulldetails.cfg&specimen_num=637456 (accessed: 11 November 2021)

Review: 26/11/21:

There is much from this crit which I have now (often indirectly) addressed – and there is also more which I am yet to address. Display is a big one still – I really want to experiment with the colours of the walls that I display it on – but this is a big step and involves a lot of time that I don’t have at the moment! However, reviewing this has also reminded me to look into magnification methods for the viewers, and the framing and display methods of the work really need to be investigated!

Today we had our first crit all together as Level Six, and it was really beneficial – there were loads of points brought up – some of which I had already thought of and some completely new! Overall, it was definitely the criteria which I have found most productive and useful – I think because I have a clear focus and idea of where my project is going – and that is clear to the audience in my illustrations.

I have highlighted the points in bold those which I will choose to work on first.

Summary of points made:

• Viewers want magnification tools to look at the images in all of their detail, and to be able to appreciate them more for their detail – eg. Magnifying glasses, thread counters, etc.
• Scale: scale was often mentioned – mostly in the idea of blowing the images up much larger. This is something I am reluctant to do for the final outcome, as it removes the idea of the illustration being life sized, and the ‘real’ plant being in front of you. However, I would consider blowing them up for advertising, etc. Alternatively, scale could also be perceived through the size of the total collection of works (when I have built up a collection), and the way in which I display them – in a grid/line/broken grid/organic way organisation. Also potentially explore projection.
• The engaging aspect of the QR codes was really successful and made people much more interested in the plants themselves and more likely to look at them and be interested in them after viewing the work.
• The Styles of illustration are very different, and maybe feel a little disparate? However, some people preferred one style over the other – and maybe in a collection of works, it will feel less disparate? Also don’t display them so close to each other, so that the viewers aren’t comparing them.
• Explore the composition of the illustrations – work on layering different elements of the plants on the same page to make a fuller and more engaging composition – less like the drawings are floating in space. Also maybe consider bringing an element of the natural environment into the drawings to aid the understanding of the plants themselves (although this may be less important when the composition is changed and the context of the plant is a little clearer).
• When exhibiting the work (or deciding on how to exhibit), try photocopying the work I already have, and playing around with a larger number of images, to see how they look as a whole, and to aid the understanding of the scale and meaning of the collection of work. Maybe further explore the positioning of the labels (although I have done this already). Also consider the environment that I am exhibiting in – does it have to be on a white wall – should it rather be a coloured/patterned/textured wall, to stop the illustrations becoming lost on it. Or will framing them stop this from happening?
• Method of display and production: will they be on the wall/as a book/on a table, etc?
• Exploring different techniques and media, such as digital drawing, video, etc. and creating images of the natural environment of the plant 0 without the plant in them, to highlight their endangerment.