Lucy Burgoyne
Gifts of Plants in Prints
Linoleum, rubber, oil-based ink on handmade paper
“I am amazed by all the ways people use plants beyond a food source, and I wanted to explore some of the different ways plants provide to us in my project. I chose to make two prints reflecting medicinal use and the use of plants as seasonal indicators. The first print depicts raspberries and black cohosh roots, both of which are native to the Eastern United State and have a long history as medicines related to female reproductive health. The second print is a more personal print showing some of my favorite plants and animals that mark the end of a long cold Ithaca winter and the beginning of sunnier, warmer days.”
Mary Conlan
Crochet Snake Plant and Pot
Yarn, Wire, and Cardboard
“I was inspired to make this project because my house growing up has always been filled with plants. I always loved the snake plant we had in our sunroom, so I decided it would be the perfect plant for me to make out of yarn…. There are so many different shapes and patterns of the Snake plant, and it’s almost hard to believe that they are all the same type. After ample searching, I believe it was the Sansevieria ‘Lauren’ variety, which has two distinct colors, with a lighter yellowish-green on the outside, and a darker green on the inside. I also believe that my crocheting abilities have increased, as now I can make things into a 3D model, using wire to help achieve the shape.”
Keren Gross
Art Journal with Graphite Pencil Drawings
“For my final project, I created three drawings of plants that were special to me on sketch paper using graphite pencils. I then pasted these drawings into a composition notebook, which I decorated using acrylic paint and plastic plants. The plants I chose to feature in my drawings were Zinnia Elegans, Antirrhinum Majus, and Phalaenopsis Amabilis. This project was exciting for me as I got the chance to both improve my drawing skills and learn more about the plants I love! Doing my drawings in black and white was a first for me, as I usually use colored pencils, but it ended up improving my drawing skills and forced me to notice new details about the plants I was drawing.”
Shreya Kethi Reddy
Seasonal Earrings
Resin, dyed fabric, clay impressions, and ink impressions based on the global seasons
“As a huge admirer of earrings, I have always wanted to learn how to make my own and thus this was a good opportunity to work and experiment with different techniques. In addition, through the project I have learned more about the plants surrounding me, especially those that commonly grew in my household and that I hold a strong tie to. I include a fabric pattern made with the ink of a red hibiscus flower (Hibiscus furcellatus) representing spring, a painted clay impression of Cuban oregano (Coleus amboinicus) representing summer, a resin casting of red oak (Quercus rubra) leaves representing fall, a clay impression of pinecones tips from Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) representing winter, resin of Indian curry leaf (Murraya koenigii) with bubbles similar to droplets representing monsoon season, and a red-brown ink impression of a Goldie’s fern (Dryopteris goldiana) representing fire season.”
Isabella Ma
Cotton & Abaca paper cuts
“I created 3 paper cuts using homemade paper, inspired by various plants. I was inspired to do this because of the free form and variability of the paper we made in class, and wanted to see how it would work with a more strict art form. I chose to depict red spider lilies, a variegated monstera, and a moonlight caladium.”
Donelly Matus
A stroll down Cornell
Air dry clay, acrylic paint, clay glaze
“I was inspired by the beautiful flora throughout the Cornell campus and wanted to preserve its beauty in a permanent state, which I can hold onto even after my time at Cornell. I was able to gain an understanding of how to curate plants together, identify them, and an appreciation for their morphological features.”
Nika Rice
Nature and Nurture
“My kitchen herb garden contains basil, mint, and thyme. The pot is decorated with litter I collected on hikes and walks. I organized the trash into a mosaic. I wrote a poem (below) based on a grounding exercise my friend taught me that I have found meaningful lately. The paper was made in class and the ink was extracted from black walnuts. I learned to persevere, be flexible, and to enjoy the process. I am happy with the result and will treasure the project for a long time.”
Today the world is spiraling around
Eye glimpse sock, sky, soda, litter, art
The olfactory appreciates aromas of thyme, mint, basil
The mouth savors flavors of mint & thyme
I am these senses and I am enough
I’m reminded of friends found in nature
I’m grateful for past and present who provide sustenance
Today I let nature nurture me
But tomorrow when the chaos calms
I will reciprocate and tend
Alex Tan
荷塘情趣 Serenity of a Lotus Pond
Watercolor on rice paper; pencil and ink on paper; 16” x 40”
“I wanted to embrace the different observational skills we learned in class. We sketched intricate details based on subjects right in front of us; we also captured a plant’s ephemeral form through broad movements and impressions. In this painting, I strived to learn more about the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), a valuable botanical symbol in Chinese culture, combining my plant science knowledge and traditional Chinese painting experiences in a collage that explores the different modes by which I perceive plants and connect with them emotionally.”
Ngoc Truong
Cotton-based paper, pen, Chinese ginseng herb
“I knew I wanted my final project to allude to things I grew up with as a Chinese immigrant family from Vietnam. Two of these I chose to represent was a fable my mother used to tell my sister and me about a Great Snake and a boy, and a tonic she’d feed us to heal and cleanse the body. For the former, I chose to depict the Great Snake as the main subject on paper made from cotton. Decorating its skin and its surroundings are plants native and/or well-known in China and Vietnam, including Hymenocallis littoralis and Angelica dahurica. The tale involves a healing tonic derived from the Great Snake’s flesh, so I decided to recreate my mother’s ginseng tonic recipe using Chinese ginseng and jasmine rice as a bridge. I noted the recipe on another cotton-derived sheet in the style of old Chinese writing. Through this, I was able to learn more about my culture and express myself in a way I never had before!”
Justin Walker
Connecting plants and culture through cuisine
A journal, photos of food, and all the ingredients listed out in the journal
“What inspired me to create this project was the Seeds of Survival exhibit (at Cornell Botanic Gardens) and the art piece by Jiwoo Chen. I wanted to do something with plants to connect my Caribbean heritage with plants and when I saw Jiwoo’s piece the idea of a 4 course meal highlighting a plant special to African American people popped into my head. During the process of creating this process I really enjoyed discovering creative ways to utilize plants that I haven’t eaten before such as sugarcane and create great dishes that emphasize each one. In the process of cooking I learned a lot about the properties of these plants, for example dried hibiscus is rather difficult to chop or that sugarcane wasn’t as sweet as I expected. Overall, after cooking all of these dishes I feel that i have a closer connection to some of the plants that my ancestor would have grown and consumed in the Caribbean.”
Loren Weiner
Wool yarn dyed with white onion skins, avocado pits
“I continuously collected the onion skins and avocado pits from my friends throughout the semester and enjoyed using this project as an avenue for connecting with them about horticulture, cooking, and crocheting… I wanted to use this project as an opportunity to expand my knowledge of crocheting and intersect it with a new horticulture practice I was interested in. I used a heat based dyeing method where I simmered the yarn, onion skins or avocado pits, and alum powder mordant together before allowing the dye bath to cool overnight. The overall dye process was magical, since I often didn’t know what color I would get until 24 hours later when I was taking the yarn out of the pot. I learned how precise and scientific the dye process is, especially how much trial and error is needed to get a particular vibrancy or hue and the importance of using a good mordant.”
Ziqi Yuan
Rebloom
Daylily leaves (Hemerocallis sp.), blue fescue (Festuca glauca), Japanese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis), pine cone, paper
“While exploring how to make knots from the parts of plants, I realized that dry materials are often fragile and hard to bend. But their properties can be changed under manipulation and environmental changes. For example, daylily leaves can be twisted to form a strong cordage, and it would become easy to bend after being soaked in water. I turned the cordage into a flowery pattern. I was amazed by how the properties of the plant materials changed under different conditions. The dried blue fescue leaves turned out to be strong and straight to work as the stem of a flower. The process of coming up with ways to form flowers from these different materials based on their properties was interesting and inspiring.”
Odessa Thompson
Leaves Exposed
Silk slip, cyanotype xixture (Potassium Ferricyanide, Ferric Ammonium Citrate), pressed and dried local leaves
“Throughout fall, I collected unique leaves from local trees both on Cornell campus and from surrounding woods which I pressed and dried. I have always enjoyed collecting little plant “trinkets” such as leaves or nuts on my walks around Ithaca, but have never had a place to keep them permanently. This dress was a way to preserve the silhouettes of Ithaca fall, by using cyanotype to create prints of a variety of local leaves from both meaningful trees and trees I simply walk by every day. There are many imperfections in the dye from the rain and the wind, but I like these additions as it sets the prints in the reality of a real Ithaca fall. During the process of collection, I also recorded the name and binomial nomenclature of each leaf, which I compiled in a corresponding document.”
Megan Wu
Crocheted Spring Flowers
Yarn, crochet hooks, stem wires, scissors, and glue.
“I enjoyed the class where we sketched a leaf in different ways to learn about its morphological characteristics. As a result, I was inspired to do something similar for my final project where I would look at a flower native to Ithaca (wild geranium, bloodroot, red trillium) and try to freehand-crochet something that resembled it. While I made the crochet patterns, I also wrote down interesting information I learned about the plants along the way. Through this experience, I learned a lot about the flowers’ uses and many new crochet techniques.”
Sharyn Schweitzer
My Plant Sketches
Pen and ink on paper
“I made a series of small drawings in my sketchbook of plants and areas of nature I have seen on and around campus. Some of the pages are created using a normal pen, some used a calligraphy pen and ink, and others used a combination of one of those and water colors… There are so many hidden natural gems on campus that I had never seen before but wanted to find. This led me to walking all around campus to draw my favorite spots and find new favorite places to draw. I especially enjoyed it when it was warm enough to sit outside and immerse myself in nature while I drew. The first three drawings in my slideshow were drawn from life and were three of my favorite art experiences… It was more inspiring than taking a photo and drawing off my phone. I cannot wait for it to be warm enough outside for me to go back to the places I missed and continue my journal.”
Victoria Beckerink
Crochet with acrylic, cotton & wool yarn
“I wanted to create a cornucopia-style piece that captures the beauty and variety of different plants during the fall, and try to make them as accurate as possible. Making the leaves was both the most challenging and satisfying part of this. I spent time studying different kinds of fall foliage to get an idea of how different leaves change, and dye my leaves in a similar pattern. Through this project, I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of the complexity of these leaves.”
Ellen Berghausen
Watercolor on paper; pigments from sycamore (Platantus occidentalis) bark, red oak (Quercus rubra) acorns, and black walnut (Juglans nigra) fruit.
“I was inspired by our class’s en plein air watercolor session to pursue watercolor as a medium. I initially wanted to use pigments from trees to capture their bark, but after extracting them they didn’t transfer to paper very well so I decided to paint using watercolors instead. The pigments still look nice in their jars and I had a great time learning how to identify the trees and forage. Growing up in North Carolina I played with black walnuts, staining my hands for days on end; I am able to pick out sycamore’s tall, white branches in the landscape on my drives up to Ithaca in recent years; and I associate red oaks with Cornell’s campus, especially lining my habitual Tower Rd walks. I chose to learn more about these species in particular to help me explore the unfamiliar medium of watercolor and capture how my personal relationship to my environment underscores phases of and transitions in my life.”
Zoe Lewis
Nano cube aquascape
5 gallon acrylic aquarium, aquasoil, spider wood, lava rock, sand, various aquatic plants: Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass), Rotala rotundifolia ‘green’ and ‘super red’, Alteranthera reineckii ‘mini’, Blyxa japonica, Bucephalandra ‘brownie ghost’, Cryptocoryne spiralis, Microsorum pteropus ‘trident’
“Aquascapes, unlike standard fish tanks, focus on the plants and overall composition of the tank rather than fish, and a ‘low tech’ aquascape means that there is no CO2 supplementation. I built this aquarium a couple years ago, but never succeeded in creating a setup that I liked or considered successful; its small size made it difficult to maintain and I also struggled to create an interesting composition. This time, I spent a lot of time playing with different hardscapes, found a new fertilizer to try, and also held off on adding livestock to more easily control the tank conditions. I also did much more research on the plants I chose and tailored their position in the tank and also my fertilizing regime to their needs. Throughout the process, I learned more about caring for the different plants I chose and maintaining a balanced low tech aquascape. At the end of the project, I had fun learning how to photograph tanks and experimented with different settings to help capture mine.”
Shenni Liang
Plants out of paper
Various types of recycled paper, including magazine, newspaper, electricity bills, and toilet paper rolls
“My project is about using paper art to make plants. My inspiration mainly comes from the desire to address our reliance (paper) on natural resources (grass and flowers) and we should utilize them more sustainably. The ingredients are promotional magazines/newspapers mailed of various textures to my inbox. I made saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea), roses (Rosa), cherry blossom (Prunus serrulata), lily (Lilium), four-leaf clover (Trifolium), bamboo (Bambusa), water-lily (Nymphaeaceae), maple (Acer), and tulip (Tulipa). I chose those plant species because I saw them often in my past experiences. The main takeaway from this paper art experience is no matter how I maneuver the paper, results do not resemble the beauty of an authentic plant. I hope people can realize the precious nature of natural resources, plants more specifically, and think about how we can make the best use of them in an environmentally friendly way.”
Cardinal Robinson
Biodegradation experiment
Handmade canvas pants, soil, microbes
“This is an experiment with creation via biodegradation, by leaving a garment I created exposed outdoors in the elements for months on end. I hope to explore the impression upon form and color that long term exposure to soil and microbes within the soil will have on the piece when buried for longer than the length of this semester. I want to follow processes proposed by design legends Martin Margiela and Hussain Chalayan, who explored similar processes during their early careers. Though I’m unsure whether such a garment could be on a model, I’d like to display it in a runway / gallery format.”
Jakara Zellner
Seeds of Solidarity
Digital: Illustrator, Photoshop
“Flowers and plants seem like such an innocent thing. They look pretty, they represent love, and we all doodle them on the margins of notebooks. Yet, beneath their delicate petals lies a profound narrative of environmental racism and degradation that transcends the superficial. Inspired by the Seeds of Survival Celebration exhibit, specifically featuring four plants from the Cornell Botanic Gardens, my project delves into the untold stories of different marginalized people, especially of enslaved Africans and their descendants. It connects these plants and their stories with contemporary environmental injustices, exposing the intricate web of oppression that persists across generations.”
Dean Sheerer
Seneca Sunset
Watercolor and ink on multi-media paper
“The tree at the center of this artwork is a tree that has much meaning to me, as it has been the center of numerous camping trips with my close friends. Behind it is a portion of Seneca lake which can be seen from the tree. I learned a significant amount about the species of both trees and natural grasses in the process of creating this artwork, and gained substantial experience working with watercolor.”
Bella Vandenberg
It’s In My Jeans
Fabric glue, recycled cardboard, stapler, dried flowers, handmade cotton paper, dad’s old jeans, scissors, mould and deckle, pen
“I created a poetry book about consumerism using recycled materials. These poems are an ode to sustainability and the beauty of a minimalist lifestyle. They also include some personal narratives. My hope is that these verses will encourage readers to contemplate their ecological footprint and inspire a greater connection with the environment… I used a pair of jeans my dad was going to recycle and wrapped them around cardboard to create the hardcover. The experience prompted me to think introspectively about my surroundings and reignited my love of writing. I loved getting my hands dirty and working with these new materials. I have never made a book before, so this was an entirely new experience for me.”