Timber Press – a publishing company here in Portland, that specializes in gardening books – contacted me a year ago. Stacee explained that they wanted to publish a journal on medicinal herbs and was I interested in illustrating it? Of course the answer was a resounding yes!  What an honor to be invited to participate in this project…

I had a lot of home work to do as I was not familiar with medicinal herbs at all. Talk about a very pleasant surprise:  when doing research I found out that just about every plant has medicinal properties… Which meant that the sky was the limit when it came to the choices of flowers and textures that I could design with.  And to make the project even sweeter, Timber Press gave me total creative license… Stacee mentioned the woodlands; I interspersed them with some botanical couture, designs with fruits and veggies and a few hand-tied bouquets. And to sweeten the experience even more, I got to choose my photographer: Theresa Bear, who sees through her lens what my eyes see, was my number 1 choice! Thank you Theresa for the magnificent pictures!

“The Herbal Recipe Keeper is a beautiful, keepsake item that allows users to record the ways in which they have used healing plants—whether as medicinal formulations or as essential oil blends. It includes space to record botanical and common names, plant descriptions, harvesting notes, preparations uses, and details on dosage and safety. Additional features include an index that will help the user easily find recipes by plant name and undated monthly calendars.  With 240 color photographs and a removable belly band, The Herbal Recipe Keeper is indispensable for fans of herbal medicine and essential oils and a thoughtful gift for anyone seeking a new path to health and wellness.” Timber Press

If you would like to purchase the book, click here