translating.
art and opinions from Meredith Willmott, naturalist
Getting lost in the Sonoran Desert and making art about it. Selfishly oriented towards the beauty of the natural world.
Ecotone: the region of transition between two biological communities
Why leafhoppers?
When I was 19, I painted some leafhoppers on a card for my entomology professor. She emailed me later that day to tell me that I needed to complete an independent study in scientific illustration with her. I wouldn’t be here without here- thanks Dr. Forkner!
On a deeper level- leafhoppers (and treehoppers, and planthoppers, and froghoppers) are everything I love about entomology, ecology, and evolution. The diversity of form and function, their interactions with other species, and their endless, indescribable beauty.
Scientific illustration is the ecotone between art and science
Ants nesting in the domatia of an acacia. In return for shelter, the ants protect their hosts from herbivory and parasitism.
Ophiocordyceps protrudes from the base of an infected ant’s head.
The mutualism between wooly bats and pitcher plants: bats roost inside the plant, in return they provide the plant with nutrients in the form of droppings.
Scientific illustration is more than just taxonomic keys…
But that doesn’t mean keys aren’t fun…here are some stippled pieces, a technique I have really fallen in love with.
My love for the natural world began with prolonged exposure to art. My love for art has continued with prolonged exposure to the natural world.
Field sketches from another ecotone: the saltwater marshes of coastal New Jersey on a windy April morning.
ABQ New Mexico: my first field season as a graduate student, and the basis for my desert focus moving forwards in my career.
My fascination with natural history is captured in both what I can observe and what I can read. I try to capture some of this fascination with a combination of both- which results in a fairly irregular comic.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge how profoundly the humid beauty of Virginia has cultivated my love for nature. Weekly trips to Great Falls National Park, excursions up to the Chesapeake Bay to hunt fossils (and be hunted by biting flies), and the warm gurgle of small creeks that wind their way through most neighborhoods. Hercules beetles. Eating a popsicle on my front stoop in August, tiny black ants clustering around drops of melted mango. Dew encrusted spider webs stretching gossamer over the delicate tips of new grass.
Virginia IS for lovers after all.
