About Me
Artist's Statement
After graduating from Parsons School of Design, I developed a career as a textile designer, while also focusing on botanical watercolor paintings of orchids, My mother, Marilyn Mirro, and I shared a love of orchids. In the beginning, as an accomplished grower, she flowered many of the plants that I painted. Over the ensuing years, I focused on painting orchids and landscapes which led me to traveling to Peru.
Orchids have opened up so many incredible connections and discoveries, Peru being among them, and it is perhaps my travels to Machu Picchu that has had the most impact on my work.
Throughout my career, painting orchids has consistently been my passion and pursuit, which has led to many wonderful travels and experiences.
I prefer painting orchid species ‘in situ’, and, when possible, try to convey something of their natural habitats, as much of it is disappearing. More recently, I've conducted numerous painting workshops for the children of Aguas Calientas and Huilloc, Peru.
Through my paintings, I hope to bring conservation awareness for orchids, their habitats and interconnection with the natural world, which urgently needs to be valued and protected.
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EDUCATION
Parsons School of Design, NY
Fashion Institute of Technology, NY
TEXTILE DESIGN EXPERIENCE
Designer for Ralph Lauren Home,
PK Kaufman and Lee Jofa
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Orchid Society, FL
American Society of Botanical Artists – ASBA
Brooklyn Florilegium Society, NY
Manhattan Orchid Society, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
American Society of Botanical Artists, Wave Hill 25th Annual International Exhibition, Wave Hill, Riverdale New York 2022
Art vs. IIllustration, my Fakahatchee painting was featured in the exhibit. 'Orchids: Hidden Stories of Groundbreaking Women', Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC 2022
Wildly Exquisite: Florida's Native Plants, Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Florida 2021
‘Orchid’s Through the Artist's Eyes’, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Rose and McQuillan Arts Center, Coral Gables, Florida 2017
Solo Exhibition, ‘Orchid Journeys’, Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River, New York 2014
‘Orchids in Art’, The Dayton Art Institute, Mid-American Orchid Congress, Dayton, Ohio 2013
‘Portraits of a Garden From the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society’, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 2012
‘Losing Paradise-Endangered Plants Here and Around the World’, Traveling Exhibition, Missouri Botanic Garden, St. Louis, MO 2009, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL. 2010, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 2010, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 2010, ‘Plants in Peril’, Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens, London, England 2011
Orchid Expo Universal, Quito, Ecuador 2009
Solo Exhibition, ‘Orchids and Landscapes’, American Orchid Society, Delray Beach, FL 2008
Brooklyn Botanic Florilegium Society, Steinhardt Gallery, Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2007-2008
‘Orchids in Contemporary Botanical Art’, Longwood Gardens Centennial Exhibition, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA 2006.
Received ASBA Award of Excellence for Cypripedium kentuckiense.
‘A New Flowering:1000 Years of Botanical Art’, The Ashmolean Museum, The Shirley Sherwood Collection, Oxford, England 2005
The 7th International Juried Botanical Art Exhibit, The New York Horticultural Society,
New York, NY 2004
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, The Shirley Sherwood Collection, Exeter, England 2004
‘Native Wildflowers’, The Highstead Arboretum, Juried Exhibition, Redding, CT 2004
The Brooklyn Florilegium Society, Arsenal Gallery, Central Park, NY 2004
The Brooklyn Florilegium Society, Steinhardt Gallery, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY 2003, 2004
The Festival De Las Orquideas, Quito, Ecuador 2004
‘V Expo International De Orquideas Art Exhibit, The Club Peruano De Orquideas, Lima, Peru 2003
The 23rd New York International Orchid Show Art Exhibit’, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 2003-2007
The American Society of Botanical Artists Juried Art Exhibit, New York Horticultural Society, New York, NY 1998, 2000, 2002
The National Arts Club, New York City, NY 2001, 2002
The New York Orchid Show, The Courtyard Gallery at The World Financial Center, New York City, NY 1991 – 2001
‘The Artistry of Orchids’ Art Exhibit, The Smithsonian Institution Arts and Industries Building, Washington DC 2000
‘Flowers and Landscapes’ Two Person Exhibit, St. Joseph’s College, Brooklyn, NY 2000
The Lupine Gallery, Monhegan Island, Maine 1993 – 2007
Flowers and their Pollinators Botanical Art Exhibit, the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut 2000
The American Society of Botanical Artists Juried Exhibition, The Chicago Botanic Garden, where she received an ‘Award of Excellence’ 1997
RECENT ACTIVITIES
Invited to teach a drawing and painting workshop for the children of Machu Picchu Village, Peru 2016, 2019, 2023
Invited to teach a drawing and painting workshop to the children of Huilloc, Peru 2016
COMMISSIONS
Cover illustration of Catasetum saccatum, for Rudolf Jenny’s book, Of Men and Orchids, Volume 4, 2018
Poster of Native Orchids of Florida for the 19th World Orchid Conference in Miami, FL 2008
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Shirley Sherwood Collection, London, England
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, Brooklyn, NY
The Atlanta Botanic Garden, Atlanta, GA
The American Orchid Society’s Headquarters, Coral Gables, FL
My Inspiration
The natural world is my greatest inspiration. Having been drawn to Peru, with it's abundance of native orchids, wild habitats and cloud forest, I've been compelled to work with the local children, through our nature studies and painting workshops, as they will become the future stewards of this land. My goal has been to guide them in expressing their creativity through the development of their technical skills, while also encouraging their exploration, close observation and appreciation for the natural world around them.