Botanical Inkmaking With Dawn Redwood Cones on Display at Hillyer Art Library

Hillyer Art Library First Floor
On display through March 14, 2025

Hillyer Art Library is proud to display “Botanical Inkmaking With Dawn Redwood Cones” by senior Avery Maltz, a Biological Science major and Studio Art minor. Avery, a Kahn Fellow for Vegetal Forms, has been working with Jimmy Grogan at the Botanic Garden and Colin Hoag from Anthropology to explore the natural world through art and science.

In this exhibition, Avery showcases the process of creating inks from the cones of the Dawn Redwood tree, alongside a striking painting made using this very ink.

Smith’s unique and majestic Dawn Redwood tree stands behind Neilson Library. The Dawn Redwood was thought to be extinct, as it was only found in fossil records dating back to the Eocene epoch, 55-34 million years ago. In 1941, Chinese botanists discovered a small grove in the Sichuan-Hubei region. Seeds from these trees were collected and shared. The seed for Smith’s tree was shared with the college from Harvard University's Arboretum and planted on campus in 1948. The tree is recognized as being one of the largest in New England. It has delicate fern-like leaves, but unlike other Dawn Redwoods, Smith’s tree has a noticeably smoother bark.

Stop by to learn more about the fascinating Dawn Redwood tree, explore Avery’s ink-making journey, and view his unique painting. In addition, Hillyer librarians have curated a selection of books from Hillyer’s collection that engage with Avery’s work and artistic process. We hope to see you there!

Contact

Anna Helgeson, Visual Arts and Humanities Librarian: ahelgeson@smith.edu