Story behind the art of Tammy McEntee

Botanical Art Worldwide 2025-A More Abundant Future:

Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field

American Society of Botanical Artists at the Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO

Black Hulless Barley

Hordeum vulgare

Since having done research for and participating in The Fourth New York Botanical Garden Triennial, Abundant Future, I have been interested in ancient and heirloom crops and plants. The theme for the second Botanical Art Worldwide project, A More Abundant Future, naturally intrigued me. I started looking for my subject by going through the Baker Creek Rare Seed catalog and ordering a wide variety of seeds from carrots and peas to barley, focusing on heirlooms. When my order arrived, I quickly realized I had ordered more seeds than I had places to plant them. After much internal debate, I chose to plant carrots, barley, and my usual go to: gourds. As the plants grew, I found myself fascinated by the barley. I am not sure if it was because the gourds were slow to germinate or that the infant barley reminded me so much of the broom sedge, Andropogon virginicus, that I had grown and enjoyed drawing several years ago. I began sketching and recording the growth habit of the barley and decided to depict these stages for my submission.

I love to work in colored pencil and graphite. These mediums lend themselves well to capturing the tiny details and nuances of the plant. Luckily, I had been able to grow so many plants that I could harvest a few specimens at various stages and draw them, as well as make color swatches. By doing so, I was able to easily work on my final piece.

Barley is believed to be one of the first domesticated crops along with einkorn and emmer wheats. Many academics consider that it originated in the Fertile Crescent, (which consists of the modern-day region of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt) and helped to spread civilization across to western Europe. Barley is a very versatile crop that is used today much the same as it was in ancient times. It still serves as a food for humans, and food and bedding for animals, and is also used in alcohol production. The hulless variety of barley is believed to be higher in protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins than its cousins, hulled and pearl barley.

When researching my subjects, I enjoy finding “fun facts” or trivia about which I say to my children “this would be good to know if you are ever on Jeopardy.” My favorite for barley is: In 1324 King Edward II of England standardized this measurement as “three grains of barley, dry and round, placed end to end lengthwise." The Jeopardy-style answer: “What is an inch?”

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Read more about this artist's work: Curious Allies