Saturday 22 November 2014

Overcoming the Fear

This week I am attempting a hat trick... and if all goes to plan, I might even do a four-trick, but I reckon that's pushing too hard. Three is a nice number. It's a magic number. One should always plant in threes, so maybe they should paint like that too? So yes - signed the Purple beans on Monday (it's great feeling isn't it?), and the Conkers and the Hosta today . Although the latter is not quite complete, I have done it as a way of telling myself that it damn well will be). 

I am aware that Cos and the Corona de Espinas need to be finished in the back of my mind, maybe I'll attack them next week if I am in the mood, and then I can get on with some new work.  



Therefore yesterday was spent overcoming my fear of Harry the Hosta and basically getting on with it. Life doesn't stop and I knew in the back of my mind that the flower wasn't too dark, it really was that dark in the room, it was just that the painted leaves were not yet dark enough which made the flower look really sinister. Anyway - I sat down and paid some attention to Harry's base - he needed some serious grounding. It took me half a day and I got very annoyed with him. I furiously raked the lawn and went back indoors and attempted a bit more. I got annoyed again, so I made some tea... Then went back in... I did a bit more... Then I had to do a papery bit and couldn't do it. I got annoyed again. I walked over to my bookshelf and got my 'Colours of Reality' book out and had a look at Rory McEwen's papery onions, then went back to my papery bit. Managed it, but not as well as Rory. Got annoyed again because of this. Had a bath, had a beer and gave up.


Day two... did the odd chore around the house and then entered the studio at 11am. Opened the shutters, watered my Plymouth Strawberry, said hello to Ophelia and Cindy and peeled back the plastic wrapping which had tucked Harry in for the night. My reaction: Utter surprise at how grounded Harry now is and feeling a bit more content about the whole endeavour - the flower now at last fits in. Phew - saved...! Maybe this is something worth baring in mind in the future - when I next paint a top heavy plant I might need to ground them first or as soon as I can. Note taken!

So I then painted for an hour on the left leaf and then had lunch in the sunshine while it was out and decided to not go for a walk but to face Harry's leaves for the rest of the day... Carried on with the left leaf and turned the painting around like I did the flower. I am not a fan of doing this as you can't really translate what you are seeing very effectively, but I am finding it hard work getting all those parallel veins in horizontally. My shoulder just doesn't want to move in the right direction. I also feel that it is ok to turn it this time as that is what I did with the flower and you never know - using the same technique might help all the bits talk to one another as a whole?! It's a wild notion.

Painted for what felt like ages (but it wasn't) and mum made me a tea. I drank the tea and turned the piece around. I was pleased, very pleased - what a GREAT FEELING! The leaf is darker and now the flower stem looks even more part of the piece. I think we are ok everyone - I think Harry has been saved and I have managed to grow some balls in the process. Superb. 

So now I am working on the right leaf. I haven't finished the back one yet, but remember how I like to 'weave' around the paper... 

So let's finish Harry today and then who knows...

Tuesday 18 November 2014

The Muirhead Herbarium



Recently I was contacted by Plymouth University about the work I did on their Muirhead Herbarium back in 2007. Seemed a little odd at the time as I had just nipped into London from Spain and so my mind was not only having trouble in time travelling backwards to a previous life I had in London, but it then had the further onslaught of going back even further to another time in Devon, which was actually when I first started writing this blog. 

As I sat in Tate Modern talking on the phone to this lovely lady about where particular specimens were and which parts of the herbarium need to be imaged and which not (if one had to give priority), I realised that it would be a jolly good thing to publish some of the material I wrote and found at the time online, so it is available to all who need it as a resource. So here goes:


The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium* is located in 220A on the second floor of the Davy building located in the main Plymouth University Campus.  It is in a very small room which is situated to the side of the main lecture theatre which hmens access is limited to when the lecture theatre is not being used, so no one really ever goes in there. When I first went inside it felt like I was digging up a time capsule. The room was littered with old cigarette butts and packets, old newspapers and chocolate bar wrappers with redundant price tags on. It was like being in Gene Hunt's office in 'Life on Mars'.

The University of Plymouth originally had assorted collections of biological specimens to assist with teaching, but the herbarium was augmented in 1984, when Miss Clara Muirhead bequeathed her herbarium to the University (Fothergill and Hallett, 2000). Later, the specimens from the 1987 Habitat Project were amalgamated in to the Muirhead collection and the herbarium grew further in size.


The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium houses collections of vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, algae and spirit stored specimens. The geographical range is mainly limited to parts of Scotland, Ireland, Cumberland and Devon and specimens date from the 1940’s to the present, although there are a few older, tropical specimens. Most of these specimens are new donations and have not yet been properly mounted or taxonomically sorted, where others are attached to the Muirhead collection. A recent donation from Seale Hayne has also provided the herbarium with a new agricultural collection of mainly old wheat (Triticum) varieties.  These specimens are also not suitably mounted or taxonomically arranged and are in a very poor state. 

The current standard of care for all of these specimens has been inadequate in recent years due to a lack of funding. The use of non-archival materials and the use of specimens in teaching are continuing to endanger the longevity of the collection and associated data (Fothergill and Hallett, 2000). Further to this, the size of the room is not sufficient for the volume of material present. Many of the un-mounted specimens are not catalogued and are not being stored correctly. With a lack of cupboards, specimens are being stored in boxes where access to them is extremely limited. With there being no dedicated budget for the herbarium, the room has become dated. It is recommended that in the future the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is housed in a larger, more modern and accessible room. 

At this point it is important to note that digitising and creating a database is only a small facet of a working herbarium. Databases with digital images are used to reduce the handling of fragile specimens, and also to make the herbarium more accessible to outside institutions.  Alone, databases are not sufficient to ensure the prolonged existence of a herbarium.  Herbaria need to be cared for by trained personnel.  The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, for example, is in desperate need of physical attention.  Many specimens need to be mounted and catalogued, the room needs to be made airtight and the specimens need to be frozen regularly in order to reduce the chances of insect attack. On inspection some of the specimens in the room have already been damaged by insects.  Further to this a digital image, although useful for teaching, is inadequate for the taxonomist.  For scientific study the mounted specimen, along with its collection data is needed.  Therefore it is important to note that although the rest of this report will be exploring the methods used for digitising and databasing herbaria, that this alone is a fragment of a larger project.  It is also important to note that full digitisation of the entire herbarium cannot go ahead until the rest of the specimens have been mounted.  Mounting needs to be done by trained staff using archival material. 

Noteworthy collections present in the herbarium:

Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead (1915-1985) Collection

Figure 1: Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead

Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead (CWM) was a notable botanist of the time (figure 1).  She worked at both Carlisle Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.  She joined the BSBI in 1952 and became active on the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) committee for the study of Scottish flora.  Her interests within botany were wide but her main curiosities included mosses, succulents and cacti – notably Sempervivum, roses and Cassiope. This is clearly evident in the Memorial Herbarium, with their being noteworthy collections of these particular groups of plants. In fact, her enthusiasm for Sempervivum also resulted in an increase in the living collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Win revised this genus for the Flora of Turkey.  Amongst her other works she also wrote a monograph on Cassiope lycopodioides. To mark her liking for Cassiope, the well known plantsman R. B. Cooke (who wrote to Win frequently) named his cultivar C. ‘Muirhead’ (C. wardii x lycopodioides) after her.

Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958)
Figure 2: Frank Kingdon-Ward

Frank Kingdon-Ward (figure 2) was born on 6th November 1885 at Withington, Lancashire.  Inspired by his father, a botanist, Frank acquired a love for nature and this; with his dreams of travel lead him to become a plant hunter.  Frank travelled to Burma, Tibet and Assam in order to find new plants and is one of the last of the famous plant hunters (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  Most of the Kingdon-Ward collection is held in the Royal Botanic Garden Kew, although some specimens are in other large institutions such as Edinburgh.  It is common knowledge that there are a few missing specimens from his entire collection (missing collection numbers), and much has been done to track them down.  It was therefore a delight when a few specimens that were collected by Frank Kingdon-Ward (FKW) were found within the Muirhead collection (cabernet four). 

The specimens were Cassiope species and they have been mounted and labelled by Clara Muirhead in her own hand.  Each specimen has its own FKW collection number.  These specimens are extremely valuable historically and should not be housed in cabernet four with the un-mounted and unsorted specimens, which is where they currently lay.  It is recommended that these specimens are moved to a more organised cabernet. One other aspect which is also of importance is the possibility of tracking down the letters that were sent between FKW and CWM as these are part of the FKW collection.  The letters have been seen by various members of staff in the past, but during this study it was not possible to locate them. If the letters have gone astray, this further reinforces the need for more stringent rules for access into the herbarium.

George Forrest (1873-1932)
Figure 3: George Forrest
George Forrest (figure 3) was born on 13th March 1873 in Falkirk, and after his education at the Kilmarnock Academy he was employed by a pharmaceutical chemist.  It was there where he learnt about the medicinal properties of many plants and how to dry, label and mount herbarium specimens (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  After some time, Forrest then started to work for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as an assistant in their herbarium.  In 1904 he got the opportunity to travel to China to collect new plants suited to British gardens.  From then on he became a plant hunter, bringing back more than 30,000 plants, many of which ended up being cultivated in British gardens (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  Most of his collection books and specimens are now housed at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.  However, cabinet four in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium appears to also house several Cassiope specimens that had been collected by George Forrest.  Again all the specimens have been mounted and labelled by Clara Muirhead in her own hand and all of them have Forrest’s individual collection numbers.  This tiny collection of specimens is also very unique for a small herbarium and historically important.

Habitat 1987 Collection

In 1987, forty unemployed people joined a project to survey the Plymouth Flora.  Four of the team were involved in remounting the Muirhead herbarium. Nick Bragg was involved in mounting the material collected from this survey and Dr. Andy Stevens (figure 1.4) and Monica Rowland sorted these mounted specimens, along with the rest of the herbarium, amalgamating the new specimens with the Muirhead collection. The Habitat 1987 collection is extremely important, and the only record of the flora in Plymouth at that particular time.

James Burkill Collection
Figure 4: James Burkhill Collection which is in desperate need of cataloguing and filing
A recent donation to Plymouth University has allowed the institution to obtain several books, papers and herbarium specimens that belonged to Mr. James Burkill, a botanist who worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Currently, there is very little information on the internet about this botanist, but from his specimen collection it is clear that he was particularly interested in seaweeds and tropical flora. There are several specimens that had been collected from south eastern Asia and Africa, all of which have written labels on the newspaper files which they lay between. A collection of his note books and published material was also donated, and this half of the collection is kept in room B406 in the Portland Square Building. The Burkhill collection is unmounted and unsorted and is currently being stored in cardboards boxes (figure 1.5). This type of storage is unsuitable and the specimens are in urgent need of mounting, especially as newspaper is known to degrade very quickly, and this could lead to the loss of this valuable collection.

Seale Hayne Collection

Figure 5
Figure 6

The Seale Hayne Collection (figures 5 and 6) is the latest addition to the Muirhead. The specimens were brought over from the Seale Hayne campus during this project and are currently being housed in room 201 in the Davy Building. Some of the loose specimens have been placed on the work bench in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium for safe-keeping until further cataloguing can be done.  The specimens that were added to the herbarium have been wrapped in polythene bags to prevent insect attack.

Please note that the collections mentioned in this report are not the only collections in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, and have only been reviewed here because they were either a new addition to the herbarium, or they were considered important. Please refer to Fothergill and Hallett (2001) for the full inventory of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium. 

Chapter 5: The Future of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium
           
The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, as it is to date, is not dynamic.  It is not being used for research, teaching or promotion and therefore it is a dead-space.  It would therefore be beneficial to the University of Plymouth to amend how the herbarium is used and how it functions in order to maximise the use of space on the campus.  Such changes do not have to involve the purchasing of expensive pieces of equipment, but does require the construction of an online catalogue/database for the specimens, and a short term contract so that someone can complete the mounting of the specimens in the boxes and in cabinets one - four.  Below are listed some of the ways in which the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium could be used by the University in the future and the benefits associated with databasing the specimens.

Future Collecting and teaching

With a small amendment on the teaching syllabus for some courses, the Muirhead Herbarium could become a useful tool for teaching and future research.  Plant collecting and pressing could be incorporated as a feature of field courses, along with data entry.  Biology students could be assessed on their ability to collect, press, label and enter data onto the database like the students are in RBGE.  Such activities would be advantageous to the University, as it could generate voluntary students who may be willing to help with the upkeep of the Muirhead Herbarium in the future.

Collecting plants abroad could also strengthen the links that the University has with institutions over seas.  This could place Plymouth University on the map as a centre for biodiversity research and conservation, which links into sustainability. The University could not only practice conservation on its campus, but also abroad.  Many current projects that are currently run through IUCN now involve the use of herbaria.  Red lists are often generated by measuring collection rates of plants species in herbaria.  Similar assignments could generate interesting research projects for students, which could increase student interest and promote the reputation of the University.

Promoting use within the University and locality

The Habitat 1987 collection mainly focuses on the flora of Plymouth and the surrounding areas.  Therefore, it is of importance to local wildlife organisations and university staff and students as an environmental and botanical reference.  By generating a digital database, access to information about this collection would be improved and this could potentially increase the interest in the herbarium, further adding to the value to the space and improving the reputation of the University.  Improving and strengthening the ties between the City Museum and the University of Plymouth would further add value to the herbarium, especially if it was used for events such as Science Week or on open days, such as those held in Edinburgh. RBGE frequently invites the general public into their herbarium for talks and tours.

Promoting use to outside bodies

As the older collection is primarily made up of material from Cumberland and Scotland it would be appropriate to promote the use of the collection by other interested bodies.  Many institutions such as universities, museums and botanical gardens in these areas maybe interested in referring to the Muirhead collection. If images were taken of the specimens and placed on a database, institutions in these areas could refer to the collections with ease.  This would also reduce the need to loan out specimens as well, helping to reduce complications in the running of the herbarium.  It is also suggested that if a digitisation project goes ahead, then it should be advertised, not only in University magazines, but in more public magazines such as ‘The Garden’ (RHS).

Conclusion

As mentioned by Fothergill and Hallett (2001), the general condition of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is satisfactory, but some work does need to be done, the most crucial of which is the development of a database to reduce handling and to ensure that all the specimens are catalogued.  Maintenance and updating the windows in room 220A is also very important, as further deterioration of the seals could pose a threat to the collections in the future.  If the University of Plymouth cannot refurbish, conserve and utilize the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium then it is strongly suggested that the herbarium is moved to in an institution that can.  During the writing of their report, Fothergill and Hallett (2001) found that Carlisle Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) were interested in having the collections made by Clara Winsome Muirhead back, especially if they were in danger of being lost.  During construction of this report, the current curator of RBGE was made aware of the agreement made by the previous curator, and he now recognises that the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is an important collection which is historically attached to the herbarium at RBGE.  Further to this, Helen Fothergill at the Plymouth City Museum has shown interest in housing the Habitat 1987 collection with their local herbarium if the Muirhead was ever at risk.

*A herbarium is a collection of preserved plants stored, catalogued and arranged systematically for study by botanists, ecologists, historians, geographers and even artists. The specimens that that are stored in a herbarium are a working reference collection used in the identification of plants, the writing of Floras, monographs and red lists, the study of plant evolutionary relationships and other DNA researchA herbarium is like a library or vast catalogue and each plant specimen has its own unique information – where it was found, when it flowers and what it looks like.

Appendix







Frank Kingdon Ward Collection Numbers

3311 – Cassiope sp.                                        8285 – C. wardii
5663a – C. fastigiata                                       6942 – C. pectinata
5663b - C. fastigiata                                        5663c - C. fastigiata

George Forrest Collection Numbers

19068 – C. macrantha                                    19069 – Cassiope sp.
30874 – C. macrantha                                    23560 – Cassiope. sp.
10443 – C. macrantha                                    19495 – C. macrantha
30874 – C. macrantha                                    28746 – C. pectinata
489 – C. pectinata                                           1675 – C. pectinata
30488 – C. pectinata

Friday 14 November 2014

A grand day out for the BBC

Filming with the BBC and Northern Town in the Chelsea Physic Garden
Well I haven't done the best job at keeping things quiet it has to be said, but then I was rather excited. Luckily I have got a green light from the producers to talk about my little bit of news, so here goes... Back in September, when I was living temporarily in my parents flat in Brighton I received an email from Edward Morgan from Northern Town, the production company that made that beautiful and touching short film about the life of Rory McEwen which was used for the exhibition at Kew in 2012. He wanted to let me know that the BBC had decided to commission a half hour programme on the life of Rory for BBC4 and wondered if I'd be interested in doing a spot of filming for it.  Naturally I was more than delighted to help.

Having recently moved the Inky Leaves studio to Spain I wasn't able to invite the crew to my Brick Lane studio, so we had to think of another UK-based location and it was then when I mentioned that the Chelsea Physic Garden is pretty much my 'second' studio. It's where I go for inspiration and I am frequently painting amongst their beautifully planted boarders. After a couple of recces it was decided that Chelsea offered an ideal spot, not only because it was it was a bit different to the usual indoor setting one might use for an interview, but because it is also quite close to Rory's old house in Tregunter Road. 

Conker Shells on Rory McEwen Vellum; gifted to me from Sam and Christabel McEwen in 2012

So now you all know why I took the plunge to paint on Rory's vellum a few weeks ago and why I flew back to Blighty this week... Well actually there were several reasons why I flew to England, but this was one of them. Thanks to British Airways, who were incredibly accommodating and helpful, I was able to bring my portfolio and vellum on board with me alongside my hand luggage. This was really important as the climate in the cabin is much more regulated and my work and materials were thus protected.

I originally thought that the day wouldn't be very long - as it is intended that the documentary will cover his musical career as well. With so much of Rory's colourful life to get in a short space of time, I concluded that I will probably get a maximum of a couple of minutes of air time. Therefore, I thought a couple of hours of filming would have been probably done the trick. Alas, it was surprisingly a rather long day and what was brilliant was I had absolutely no idea at the time. I was enjoying the experience so much that I hadn't realised how the day had flown by. I think we were at the garden for about five hours! We didn't have to do many re-takes - all the one's we did were due to aircraft flying over. There were some pretty cool planes at that because of course it was Armistice Day.

Painting on vellum in the Chelsea Physic Garden

A consequence of me enjoying myself so much is that I completely forgot to take some photographs of the whole event. This is what happens when I have too much fun, I get completely lost in the moment. Luckily, the Director of Photography and digital maestro Terry Wilson from Northern Town, has managed to take some screen grabs for me which I have loaded up on here. It feels a little self indulgent, as you only get me, but we do need some pictures to space out the text... so apologies for not being able to post images of the entire set up but I think you can get the gist...

The day started with the sun actually out - can you Adam and Eve it?! I was so utterly over the moon to see the sun shining through the Autumnal leaves and I wasn't the only one, therefore we begun the day filming shots of me walking around the garden while the weather was being ultra kind. Then, as the misty clouds started to roll in we went into the glasshouse with all the Germaniums and Pelagoniums inside. It smelt delicious. 


Once inside there were lots of other takes and two types of interview - one of me painting and the other not. Alison Grist, the Director, was really wonderful. She was really kind and really helped me throughout the day. I don't know what I would have done without her support, attentiveness and creativity - a seriously gifted producer. Hopefully, with all this assistance and with Eddie and Lily Middleton (Marketing & PR Assistant at Chelsea Physic Garden) filling us up with coffee it has come out well. Throughout the whole day I remember really trying not to muffle, stutter, hesitate or swear (the latter of which, as most of me nearest and dearest can confirm, is really difficult for me. I am no Malcolm Tucker, but the occasional word has a habit of slipping in when I get overly enthralled). Anyway, the production team were pleased with the material they gleaned from the day, so I guess we shall just have to wait and see what they decide to use and how they edit the content. 

Of course, I realise that all of you will be very excited to hear that there is a programme on Rory McEwen coming out and I know that you will want to know when it is being first broadcast. At this current time I don't have an official date, but I know it is likely to be sometime in February 2015 - I will keep you posted. In the meantime I am incredibly honoured to have been asked to participate in this project and really hope that that I have done Rory proud. I am very grateful to everyone in the production team, the Chelsea Physic Garden, the McEwen family, Martin J Allen and of course BA. 

Chelsea have since written their own a article about the day which can be found here.

Saturday 1 November 2014