I am an artist and documentarian working in pencil, pastel, and film to convey my love of people and the planet. Please subscribe to my irregular email.
Like Lichens? I've Got a Book for You!
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Live happily, you're worth it. Happy Spring! Attention Bibliophiles and Nature Lovers! I'm delighted to announce that the book Lichenpedia: A Compendium of Lichen Lore, will be available on May 28! Written by Kay Hurley and illustrated by me, this book combines botanical history, science and art to explain the important and often overlooked role of lichens. It’s an entertaining and educational treasure, available in hardcover (with a cloth cover and an elaborate foil-stamped design) or on Kindle. You can pre-order it now via Amazon, the MIT Press Bookstore and, of course, the publisher: get a sneak peek inside at Princeton University Press. Lichens are a crazy communion of a fungal species combined with an algae species and/or cyanobacteria, resulting in a mutualistic, symbiotic relationship. This "inextricable intertwingling"* of things in nature permeates my worldview and greatly influences my artistic endeavors. I wish for more mutualism. I hope Kay's words and my drawings in Lichenpedia will illuminate the extraordinariness of humble lichens and deepen our connection to one another and nature. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might like it. Thanks for reading! All the best, *“Inextricably intertwingled” is a phrase coined by Phil Bertoni, a revered math teacher, musician, author. May he rest in peace. If you like this email, please tell your friends to subscribe to this irregular publication :-) |
Susan Adele Edwards
I am an artist and documentarian working in pencil, pastel, and film to convey my love of people and the planet. Please subscribe to my irregular email.
Live happily, you're worth it. Thoreau’s Journals: Discovering Nature Through Drawing "Birch Bark"Illustration by Susan Edwards An invitation to lead a drawing class at Thoreau Farm’s upcoming Lichen Day (April 6) aroused my curiosity: “Did Henry David Thoreau sketch?” Indeed, he did! About 13 years into his journal writing, he began regularly illustrating his entries with pencil drawings. It’s likely he used pencils crafted in his family’s own factory, carrying them on his daily...
Live happily, you're worth it. The Carrot Underground, by Susan A. Edwards "All flourishing is mutual."— from The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2024. Did you know that beneath our feet a mutual flourishing is happening between soil microorganisms and plant roots? A plant’s roots and the surrounding few millimeters of soil — the rhizosphere — are teeming with industrious life you can’t see. Millions of microorganisms, mostly bacteria and...
Live happily, you're worth it. "Basking in the Moonlight" by Susan A. Edwards Sowing Seeds for a New Exhibit With the moon casting long purple shadows on crystalline snow and the inky sky flecked with stars, this is a time of year I cherish — a time to rejuvenate, create art and, this winter, curate my next exhibit, "Journey to the Rhizosphere." The exhibit is slated for April this year at the Harris Center for Conservation Education. My collaborative, multi-sensory exhibit will invite people...