Margaret Shipman: An Invitation to Notice

Based in southern Vermont, Margaret Shipman paints wild plants and medicinal herbs, inspired by 19th-century botanical illustrations and the circular structure of mandalas. She arranges plants in interconnected compositions where roots form the center, and stems, leaves, and flowers twist outward into what she calls “chaos mandalas.” For Shipman, every plant contains layers of human meaning acquired through generations of use, folklore, songs, stories, and symbolic language. 

Many of Shipman’s paintings incorporate fragments of text drawn not only from her research into historical uses and symbolism of particular plants—folk traditions, plant medicine references, herbal recipes for better health—but also from her personal reflections on healing, resilience, safety, and the act of noticing. As a result, the paintings serve as an invitation for viewers to slow down, remain curious, and reconnect with the living world.

An Invitation to Notice  is curated by Sarah Freeman.