Story behind the art of Sally Petru
27th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators
Huitlacoche
Zea mays, Ustilago maydis
The subject of my painting is a delicacy in Mexican cuisine known as huitlacoche, a type of fungus also known as corn smut or Mexican truffle. I originally chose this subject for the Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial exhibition, Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites and Carnivores. My painting was not accepted, but I then resubmitted it to this Annual International, and it was. How did I choose this subject? When I began to do research for the Curious Allies show, I went once again to my friend, John Taylor, Professor in the Plant and Microbial Biology department at University of California, Berkeley. He had helped me choose and locate the subject for my painting of Sorghum, which was in the Fourth New York Botanical Garden Triennial exhibition, Abundant Future. I’m always on the lookout for unusual, unexpected specimens. I knew he'd have some thoughts. And, after a little poking around on both our parts, he suggested the corn smut.
But where would I locate this? I spoke to vendors at local farmers markets. Most said that because US consumers find these unsightly and don’t typically cook with them, an infected cob would be tossed out. John eventually came through with a source. He put me in touch with Maria de la Fuente, PhD, University of California Cooperative Extension – Farm and Master Gardener Advisor in Monterey. She had been doing some research on corn smut and said that she orders her specimens from none other than Etsy. Who knew.
My order arrived with four cobs that had bulbous, blue-gray to black growths formed from maize kernels into grotesque galls. I contacted Maria and John who explained that this was normal. A friend from Mexico, who cooks with huitlacoche, corroborated this. Finally, a chance stop for lunch at a Mexican restaurant offered huitlacoche quesadillas on the menu. I had to try them. I did and they were delicious, smoky and truffle-like.
I was curious about the origins of the fungus. To accommodate their growing population, the Aztecs expanded their empire into the Valley of Mexico in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. They began to create irrigated terraces to increase food production. These advanced agricultural practices were the basis of their diet that included tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, and, of course, maize — the sacred crop in Aztec mythology. A fungal disease caused by the fungus, Ustilago maydis, affected certain variations of corn plants, so the Aztecs adapted, and discovered that the fungus was useful.
After thorough examination of the cobs, I felt this subject was meant for vellum. The color of the husk was a similar tone to the veiny vellum hide that I’d been storing since 2009. It was a very neutral subject with a touch of light green on the husk and yellow in the failing kernels. The curls of the husk framed the bulbous fungus nicely. The greatest surprise came a week or two later when a larva came crawling out of the husk. A student of mine who is an entomologist said it was likely a noctuid moth – a corn ear worm – an agricultural pest. I was able to add this to the painting. I felt it gave more context and interest.
The biggest challenge while painting this subject was in maintaining clarity of the subtle lines and layers of the husk. I observed transparency, folds and curls that embraced the puffy, sooty, and dense fungus. I wanted to show the remains of the yellow kernels to indicate the source of these formations. I set the subject in the middle of the page, nearly floating on the vellum background, yet sitting harmoniously amongst the brown veins.
I really enjoyed painting this piece. It reminded me to work on vellum more often!
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Read more about this artist's work: 26th Annual