Motherland Herbal is my latest book, set to be released June 11th by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins. It is a cross-genre work, primarily an herbal guide, with elements of memoir, and creative nonfiction. It encompasses my passion for folklore and mythology, from the African diaspora. I’m back here to begin a series of posts built around the art within its pages. Today, I share my inspiration for the book cover art. One of my favorite houseplants is our Money Tree. Rich in lore, intimately connected to abundance, prosperity and luck, I adore this plant. It is plentiful, in its growth habit, beautiful in its variety of green leaves and becomes luminous in the morning, when it catches light, hence the yellow-orange negative space around the leaves on the cover. I enjoy the playful way the art director at Harper, inserted the text, showing the title, subtitle and my name. The cover was a wonderful collaborative effort. It is designed to be inviting, informative and luminous.
The virtual studio of author and artist Stephanie Rose Bird brings together artistic process and reflection with the literary arts, in a manner that is designed to be instructive and inspirational.