Herbal Academy Student Feature: Rachel Baker (@3_sources)
For this month’s Student Feature, we spoke with Herbal Academy graduate, Rachel Baker (@3_sources). Rachel has an online business, 3 Sources, to help others maintain optimal health using nutrition and lifestyle as medicine. She is currently enrolled in the Intermediate Herbal Course and Mastering Herbal Formulation Course, and has contributed to Herbal Academy’s blog with…
3 Best Botanical Illustration Books to Inspire Your Studies
Books have a way of inspiring us to better ourselves. Wouldn’t you agree? They often help us to expand our knowledge on a particular subject or show us how to develop a skill in some form of handicraft. They even provide decor to our homes, which often stimulates good conversation amongst visitors. Botanical illustration books…
Andean Plants and Their Herbal Uses
The Andes mountains are home to at least 20,000 endemic species of Andean plants (Myers et al., 2000 as cited by Cueva-Agila et al., 2019). In Ecuador, the Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests ecoregion boasts up to 8,000 different plant species (Richter et al., 2009). The southern part of the country, especially the Loja and…
7 Foods and Herbs to Add to Your Diet for Postpartum Nourishment + A Nourishing Stew Recipe
The first weeks after birth are a very special chapter like no other—this period can be one of the biggest physical, emotional, and spiritual transitions someone will go through in their lifetime. Postpartum is the time to recover, for both parent and child. The baby slowly gets used to the new world and an intimate…
A Spring Equinox Drawing Exercise with Botanical Illustrator Joséphine Klerks
As we’ve worked behind the scenes on our new drawing exercise mini course, Botanical Drawing for Herbalists, we’ve spent many hours oohing and awwing over the incredible artwork produced by talented botanical illustrators of our day. One artist who regularly catches our attention with Earth-centered illustrations that capture the spirits of medicinal plants is Joséphine…
A Day In the Life of a Botanical Illustrator With Madison Safer
Madison Safer is a freelance illustrator who beautifully interweaves her creative artwork with her herbal practice. You may have seen her work in Taproot magazine or on social media, where her cozy, nostalgic designs illustrate topics that are near and dear to naturalists and herbalists of all skill levels. We particularly love her Fire Cider…
How To Make A Kid’s Fairy Garden With Foraged Materials
Raise your hand if you want to live in a tiny mushroom house in a magical forest (ME)! Surrounded by regal trees, waking up to dewy moss, serenaded by nature’s creatures…ah, the stuff fairytales are made of. According to my five-year-old, building a fairy house brings fairies to your house. Naturally, with that profound logic,…
Agni: Understanding the Digestive Fire
Digestive fire or digestive strength is discussed with some frequency across different herbalism and wellness traditions. However, oftentimes we don’t take the time to really break down our understanding of what is meant by digestive fire. Ayurveda has a unique, well-articulated, and beautifully poetic model for understanding digestive wellness. In Ayurveda, one’s agni (digestive fire)…
How to Make Oak Gall and Coreopsis Botanical Paint with Rebecca Desnos
With the launch of our new Botanical Drawing for Herbalists Course, we’ve been extra inspired by projects that involve making ink and dyes from plants. For this project, we teamed up with plant dyer and author Rebecca Desnos to learn how to make botanical paint from oak galls and coreopsis flowers. You can start your…
Undercover Women: Historic Botanical Illustrators
In the modern age, the title of “artist” is an acceptable profession for both male and female persons, but it wasn’t always this way. Historically, the art world was a male-dominated one. This was most likely due to the fact that men were considered the “breadwinners” of the family while women tended to more domestic…
