Story behind the art of Deborah Shaw

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

Wild Ancestor of Corn (enlarged 3x)

Zea mays subsp. parviglumis (enlarged 3x)

Grown from Z. parviglumus seeds acquired from the US National Plant Germplasm System,

North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station

Accession: Ames 21785

Lot: 92ncao01 SD

Zea mays subs. parviglumis

From Mexico, Guerrero

Plant name: I.A.

Watercolor on Kelmscott Vellum

A member of the grass family (Poaceae), the best-known Zea species is Zea mays ssp. mays—maize, or corn—an important grain crop for people and animals around the world. Globally, more than one billion tons of corn are harvested annually.

Botanical, archaeological and genetic evidence point to the Mesoamerican plant teosinte as the ancestor of our modern corn. Approximately 9,000 years ago, farmers in southwest Mexico began to domesticate the lowland teosinte variety, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis. Of the many subspecies of teosinte, Z. parviglumis appears to be the most closely related genetically to our modern domesticated corn, although a highland species, Zea mays ssp. mexicana appears to have contributed as well.

The name teosinte comes from the Nahuatl word Teocintle, (sacred ear of corn). Also known as el grano de los dioses (grain of the gods), teosinte grows in the wild in its native range of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Although climate change, natural disasters and habitat encroachment have taken their toll on various wild populations, both the Mexican and Nicaraguan governments have taken action in recent years to protect their wild teosinte. Botanists and scientists are researching how to breed beneficial teosinte traits back into corn crops. Possibilities include increased drought and flood tolerance, insect and disease resistance, higher protein content, nitrogen fixation, and perennialism.

At first glance, the teosinte plant strongly resembles corn. Like corn, male flowers are located at the top of the stem in a tassel while the female “ears” are formed in the leaf axils along the stem.

Unlike corn, teosinte “ears” are tiny—only 2 – 3 inches (5 – 7.5 cm)—and contain only one “row” of kernels. The three to eight small seeds in the one “row” mature to very hard, triangular shapes, beautifully stacked. Before ripening, they are a translucent green. When mature, they are glossy, with mottled shades ranging from grays to dark browns. The seeds spread by dehiscence (shattering) when ripe, another characteristic that was bred out of our modern corn. (It would be very hard to harvest if all our sweet corn kernels exploded off the cob before we could eat it.)

Teosinte seeds are enclosed by a very hard fruitcase, which protects them from digestion by foraging birds and animals, who disperse the seeds through their droppings. Early mutations in the domestication from teosinte to corn created larger kernels and eliminated the hard outer shell. Consequently, corn seeds can no longer survive in the wild after being consumed, and so are dependent on people for distribution.

Because various teosinte species and corn species are all closely related, there can be natural cross-fertilization between them. This can result in interesting hybrids, making identification difficult. I have grown teosinte for the past few years in order to paint it, but only one species at a time, to prevent cross-fertilization. Because natural hybridization is so common, I was recently advised to label the seed source for each artwork. I acquired seeds for two different teosintes, parviglumis and mexicana, from two different sources: Native Seeds/SEARCH and the US National Plant Germplasm System. This painting was completed as a study of the fruit of Zea mays ssp. parviglumis acquired from the US National Plant Germplasm System, North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station:

Accession: Ames 21785

Lot: 92ncao01 SD

Zea mays subs. parviglumis

From Mexico, Guerrero

Plant name: I.A.

I am obsessed with the shapes and stacking of the seeds on the “cob,” although every aspect of the plant has interesting and unique features. Accurately capturing the seeds and silk seemed presented the most challenges to me, and this painting is a result of those explorations.

The translucency and hard surface of Kelmscott vellum looks and feels like the seeds, and it seemed an obvious surface to use for the painting. Vellum doesn’t like a lot of water—Kelmscott especially so. I did the entire painting in drybrush, mostly with a 3/0 Interlon brush. I put down layers of pure blues and yellows first, with local color on top. I discovered towards the end of the painting that painting tiny strokes of different colors next to one another and letting the eye optically combine them accentuated the shimmery, translucent effect of the seeds.

Next up: Zea mays ssp. mexicana.

A Morel Volunteered in the Mulch

Morchella rufobrunnea

With its diversity of landscapes, California has a rich variety of fungi that can be foraged and harvested throughout the year. Edible fungi range from the highly prized morels to chanterelles, porcinis, hedgehogs and many more. Like mushroom enthusiasts everywhere, California has websites, mycological societies and clubs devoted to finding, identifying, and preparing our edible fungi (and avoiding the poisonous ones).

Edible mushrooms can be found at lower elevations early in the year, and then at higher elevations into spring and summer as the snow melts in the mountains.

Although the Great Lakes region in the midwest is considered to be one of the best places to find morels, they can be found in the wild here in California too, especially along burn scars from wildfires, and near streams. Most California morels are found in the Central Valley and in the mountains of northern California from around early-March through May, depending on the temperatures. A lot of progress has been made on growing morels commercially and at home using kits. Delicious, but never the same as discovering them in the wild.

Interestingly, morels in southern California also can be found happily growing on mulch in parks, apartment complexes and in yards. These are often referred to as “landscape morels.” This is because some of the mulch we purchase for use in our gardens has been imported from states where morels are common. The morel mycelium hitches a ride to our yards in the mulch and morels pop up when conditions are just right.

Our own yard is planted with California natives endemic to a ten-mile radius of our GPS location. As part of our water-conservation efforts, especially during droughts, we’ve spread “forest floor” mulch in key areas to help prevent water evaporation and help new plants get established. What a happy surprise when morels appeared!

I did this drawing with a Caran d’Arche ballpoint pen on Clairfontaine Maya Ivory paper, as part of a series of ballpoint pen mushroom drawings. (A shout-out to Claire Leroux-Daublain for getting me hooked on ballpoint pen.)

Although I’ve worked my entire career with all kinds of pens (dip, calligraphy,  Micron, ruling, etc.) and scratchboard, there is something utterly relaxing and meditative about ballpoint pen. I used Caran d’Ache pens, both fine point and medium point, with a variety of strokes—cross-hatching, contour hatching, parallel lines, tiny ellipses—whatever might have the desired effect.

Other mushroom drawings in the series are of store-bought mushrooms, which evolved out of a “what’s for dinner” series I started during the pandemic. This is the first in situ drawing. Drawing the mulch was completely mesmerizing—so much so that I’ve started another in situ fungus drawing—a Pisolithus tinctorius (dog turd fungus) that recently popped up in the yard in the Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak) leaf litter.

In the June 2020 ASBA journal The Botanical Artist, there was an article about Claire and her ballpoint pen technique. In it, she mentions “I like the idea of drawing a ‘lowly’ plant with a ‘lowly’ ballpoint pen.” I agree wholeheartedly.

My mushroom series is intriguing to me because they are something we see all the time—at the market, in our yards, on walks—but it’s rare that we have the time (or take the time?) to examine their amazing forms and intricate details. A common something that’s extraordinary. Likewise for the lowly ballpoint pen. They’re ubiquitous—we can buy them in every store and businesses hand them out for free with their logos printed on them. Art is considered to be a lofty enterprise. And true, I’m using Caran d’Ache pens that come with archival ink. But it’s still a common ballpoint pen. A common, overlooked medium for a common, overlooked subject.

Next Story

Back to List

Read more about this artist's work: 22nd Annual