By Suzanne Thorin and Elizabeth Rush
It is our pleasure to introduce three new NESBA board members, all of whom are talented women with so much to contribute to botanical art and our organization.
Marie Brezinski received her certificate in botanical art and illustration last May from the Friends of Wellesley College, a program now located at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, MA. Before her life in botanical art, she spent 36 years in the healthcare field and was a clinical project manager with deep knowledge of laboratory science and information technology. NESBA is gaining another board member from Cape Cod, where she lives with her husband. There she makes and sells handmade textile products in her business, East Chop Designs. Like other Cape Cod residents, she is constantly inspired by wildflowers, flora and fauna found along local Coastal paths. Follow Marie on Instagram.
Gail Pearlstein began a new career in 2015 in the botanical art and illustration program at Wellesley College. Prior to that she was a nurse for many years. After a necessary move to the New York/New Jersey area, she continued her studies at the New York Botanic Garden and expects to receive her certificate next year. Happily back in New England and residing in Natick, she is working on her final project in the NYBG program, rendering crops in the early growth stage at Clark Farm in Carlisle, MA, where she is also a volunteer farmer assistant. Gail forages and particularly looks for mushrooms that she can turn into yummy dishes. Gail has been the NESBA workshop coordinator for the past year.
Mal Cole is a science and nature writer, who takes botanical classes in the botanical art and illustration program now located at Mass Hort in Wellesley. Mal has incredible concentration, and last year I watched her turn a blank page to an exquisite mushroom in just an hour. Her work has appeared in The Earth and I, The Science Writer, and the literary journal Rock Salt. Since she began to study botanical art in 2015, her illustrations have appeared in The Science Writer, Rock Salt Journal and Wild Roof Journal. You may have read her blog on mosses in a recent NESBA newsletter. Mal is a life-long New Englander, who takes inspiration from the seasons as well as scrappy landscapes (as she puts it) in her beloved Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She posts her discoveries on Instagram
Please join us in welcoming Marie Brezinski and Gail Pearlstein as members-at-large and Mal Cole as secretary.