Endangered Plants Index Degree Project

I have become really fixed and excited on the idea of using the medium of the plant label in combination with my illustrations, as not only is it a link to the work of Alec Finlay, which I really enjoy, but it also uses an instantly recognisable object (with a specific link to living plants) to ground my work in the imagery and semiotics of botany and botanical referencing and recording.

To be able to use the labels correctly, I have done a little research into the layout and meaning of different parts of the label – the below image is from the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens website, and explains what each part of the label means:

As you can see here, there are multiple sections of the label pertaining to the name of the plant – as many plants have both a scientific (latin) name and a common one, (which are both displayed in the centre of the label – one below the other respectively) in addition to the name of the Family (Kingdom, Phylum, Order, Family, Genus, Species), which is displayed small in the top right-hand corner. In the bottom left-hand corner, there is the Natural Distribution of the plant – effectively telling you on which continent the plant is found natively. Then in the top left-hand corner, there is the Accession Number, which tells you about that individual plant, and in the bottom right-hand corner is the provenance of the plant (basically, where it was grown).

Having learnt this, I have then taken the elements of the label which have the most relevance for my project and what I want to use them for, and created my own, modified but still instantly recognisable, form of botanical label, as shown in the image below:

In my design, you can see that I have deliberately kept all of the elements pertaining to the name and distribution of the plant, as these are key pieces of information. However, the plant’s provenance and Accession Number are only of real use when used in botanical gardens as a means of keeping track of the individual plants they have collected there. As I am creating illustrations of plants, I have removed these pieces of information and replaced the Provenance with a QR Code which will take you to a page of information about the plant (which I am yet to create). Where the Accession Code is, I want to try and create my own code, which gives information about the conservation status of the plant, as I have a spreadsheet of information waiting to be used!I am not sure exactly how the code would look, but I am going to work on creating one over the next few days.

Source: Cambridge Botanic Garden (2022) Understanding Plant Labels. Available at: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/the-garden/understanding-plant-labels/ (accessed: 12 October 2021)

One area that my work will undoubtedly fall into, but I hadn’t considered was art with words, as the names of the plants themselves are just as crucial as their imagery – despite being much less accessible (the majority of the plants on my list have names in latin only).

In a tutorial last week, the name Alec Finlay was mentioned to me, as in  2002, he created Mesostic Plant Labels – a form of acrostic poem based on the names of different plants, using the distinctive style of botanical labels (the labels which are used to label plants in botanical gardens) as the format.

As you can see from the examples above, Finlay used the basic graphic imagery of the label, using the same type-face, materials and colours, but changed the layout to suit his own needs. The use of the traditional format of the botanical labels is a very interesting and clever one, as it creates an instant link for the audience between the subject and his poem – using semiotics to ground the project. This is something that I would like to use in my project, as instead of handwriting the labels of the plants (as is standard practice with scientific and botanical illustrations), the use of this style of label will subconsciously reinforce to the audience that this is a living plant – not just the subject of a botanical illustration. This also creates space for them to be used as labels when exhibiting the illustrations:

The above image is an idea or example of how the botanical labels could be utilised in an exhibition scenario – drawing the attention of the audience to the plant itself rather than the illustration – which is the overall aim of my project.

I have found a company who produces the labels: Sheen Botanical Labels and they detail a little of the process and materials used in producing them, which provides me with a starting point and something to think about – whether it is viable to make these labels as they are normally, or not.

Sources:

Finlay, A. (2002) Oat Seed Mesostic Poem. [Engraved Plastic] Available at: https://www.alecfinlay.com/mesostic-plant-labels (accessed: 10 October 2021)

Finlay, A. (2002) Beech Mesostic Poem. [Engraved Plastic] Available at: https://www.alecfinlay.com/mesostic-plant-labels (accessed: 10 October 2021)

Sheen Botanical Labels (2002) Products. Available at: https://sheenbotanicallabels.co.uk (accessed: 10 October 2021)

One thing that I have realised through my conversations with tutors, peers and external parties, is that due to the scale of my degree project (or the scale that I want it to achieve), I haven’t got a clear idea of how my project might finally be disseminated with the world. It has always been clear that I want the project to be multi-faceted and multi-platform, using a wide range of media to engage with the largest audience possible. However, I have come to the conclusion that I need to decide on the final format of the project: how each disparate part might work together to create one large, interactive and cohesive unit.

The media which I am planning on using are:

• Youtube (Video)
• Social Media (Instagram)
• Website/App (digital exhibition?)
• Physical Display/Exhibit
• Postcards
• Printed Media (Book)

Some of these media are very clearly linked together: for instance, social media, website/app and YouTube, and exhibition, postcards and a book. However, having them all fit together under one ‘banner’ is the area I am having difficulty in. Ideally, I think, an app would be most successful – as it would be something that anyone could use and access, and would be a place people could use as a launchpad to learn more from the other resources/media. The only issue with this is that I have no experience in writing or coding apps, nor do I believe that I would have the time or resources in this module to do so, and would therefore need to export this task somewhere else… (which would require funding) I am also going to have to think about the ‘merchandising’ of the project more carefully – to begin with, coming up with a title that I can use over all media for the dissemination of my project.

A crucial part of my degree project is botanical illustration, as the means of disseminating the visuals of the plants that I am researching. I am therefore in the process of learning traditional Botanical Illustration, and have chosen to start with Pen and Ink drawing, as it seemed the easier technique to learn (out of watercolour or pen and ink).

I have also chosen to use the dip pen rather than a fine liner, at least for my initial drawings, as it is what I have to hand, and although it’s more ‘labour intensive’ (due to having to constantly clean the nib), I feel more connected to the drawing, and my sense of satisfaction is much greater in the end. I think the connectedness also stems from it being the tool illustrators in the Golden Age of botanical illustration would have used, and I feel more connected to the history and context of the technique as well.

In my first illustration (above), I didn’t have a grasp of how the shading (created by stippling) worked, and went much too overboard on trying to capture every little detail of the texture of the petals with shading. This created a mess of dots, that isn’t at all representative of the plant and just confuses the viewer rather than enlightening.

In my second attempt (below), I made a much more concerted effort to minimise my shading to capture only the necessary detail and structure in the plant. I also decided to start with the leaves rather than the flower, as they had a much smaller amount of detail visible on them, and would make it easier to reduce the amount of shading and detail that I used and included.

This illustration is much cleaner and clearer looking overall, and although isn’t perfect, it it much closer to the scientific pen and ink illustrations that I was aiming to emulate.

The element that I feel I need to work on most now, is the areas of darkens (such as the centre of the flower), which not only need to show a colour change, but depth. This is going to be a challenge and will take more research.

I have been using Botanical Art & Artists and Lizzie Harper’s websites as reference and starting points for my botanical illustrations, while waiting for the books on botanical illustration that I have ordered from the library to come in. They are very useful – especially for references to other sources and images (examples) of how stippling and shading should look in scientific illustrations.

Review: 28/10/21:

I have now thought of a new name for my project: the Endangered Plants Index. It’s functional and explains what the project is, without it being too out-there or pretentious. I will now start work on creating a ‘look’ (including a logo) for it, which I can then incorporate into my work – such as embossing stamps on the pieces (as suggested in a tutorial, as this sometimes occurs in archives), or normal ink stamps, or to be displayed on the rulers next to my illustrations (as the rulers at Kew have their logo on). 

Update: 10/10/21:

Contacting Trees A Crowd Podcast was hugely beneficial for me – not in an artistic way, but logistically and practically. They helped me to realise that there are huge parts of my project that I hadn’t fully considered – specifically in terms of dissemination, scale and time-frame. It has become clear to me, that creating an overview of my degree project and what form I want the majority of it to take (or how each disparate part will fit together) is a hugely important stage that I must decide from the start, if I am to complete a successful and cohesive work. 

The idea for my degree project came in part from a podcast that I have been listening to, called the Trees A Crowd Podcast, where (in the current series) the host (actor, artist and amateur naturalist) David Oakes explores the 56(ish) native trees of the British Isles, exploring their importance, uses and history. It has been a very enjoyable and eye-opening listen for me, and made me realise how little people think about and consider the importance of plants in our world and how the endangerment of plants is very rarely spoken about – even though they underpin everything.

I therefore decided to get into contact with the podcast myself, to discuss my project with him and get his advice and thoughts on it, as they have already embarked upon a very similar project. I contacted them by email a few times, but finally managed to get into contact with them through the Trees A Crowd Patreon account.

I am hoping that my correspondence with them will be very beneficial to my project, in terms of structuring the project, dissemination and perhaps other contacts that he may have that would really help to move my project forward.