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"Growing Natives" botanical illustrations by Mari Yamashita de Moya
Friday, March 26, 2021, 10:00 AM to Saturday, April 17, 2021, 4:00 PM EDT
Category: Events

The Burgwin-Wright House welcomes artist Mari Yamashita de Moya for her show “Growing Natives; Botanical Art and Illustrations from the Backyard.”

Yamashita de Moya’s artworks will be on exhibit March 26 through April 17. Admission is free, masks are required on-site. Gallery is open Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm.

About the Artist
In my childhood, my mother ensured my two sisters and I were well-supplied with materials for making “things”- she taught pre-school and kindergarten and enhanced our play. When I was 7, she allowed me to use her Kenmore sewing machine, and I happily made room furnishings, doll clothes and crazy outfits to wear to school.
During college at Antioch in Ohio I majored in art and anthropology, and graduated with a BA from the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Then I earned a Master’s degree in Asian and Pacific Art history there before moving back to my birth state of Vermont. I grew up as a military “brat” and married a career Army officer. Producing my own artwork took a back seat to raising a family and working for non-profits, managing programs and volunteers. I always had art or crafts projects keeping me up until very late at night; painting, pottery and fiber art.

The first lecture I delivered on Asian inspired design stressed the importance of researching the iconic Asian symbols artists used, and the multiple ethnicities and cultures represented in a vast geographic area. I continue to find research an invaluable tool.
Although I expected to live in New England after retirement, I woke up in Chapel Hill on a fall morning in October 2014 and headed to the North Carolina Botanical Garden to soothe my soul. The exhibit in the gallery of botanical illustrations of work by members of the American Society of Botanical Artists launched me into a happy trajectory to pursue a new skill set. In the summer 2017, I completed a certification in Botanical Illustration and Art at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, and I joined the ranks of the ASBA. I have been growing and appreciating North Carolina native plants in my backyard (literally and figuratively) in Leland since 2015.

About Botanical Illustration
An artist’s accurate drawing of a plant that includes sufficient information for species identification, and that may also include cross sections and views of structure is a Botanical Illustration. Botanical illustrators trained in the European or Western style typically float the images on a white background, using shadow sparingly from a light source cast from the upper left upon the specimen.
Study and mastery of Botanical Illustration is enjoying a resurgence after generations of disregard. The introduction of photography for graphics in scientific journals and study guides was favored over pen-and-ink drawings and the muted chroma of antique prints. Thousands of detailed illustrations made by the artists and botanists from 17th century explorations have formed the core of Western botanical study, but plant evolution and discovery did not stop after these studies were catalogued. Horticulture continues to be thriving field, with new species discovered and hybrids developed in labs, nurseries and backyards around the globe. Botanical illustrators are driven by a desire and need to record earth’s vegetation.