a bunch of Fabaceae open call splash

a bunch of is a series of pocket sciart guides to plant families

annotated diagram of the abo pocket guide

About FABACEAE (The Legume Family)

Growing up in Singapore, I remember walking to my cousin's from school and staying close to the grass so I could kick (softly) any Mimosa leaves to watch them close up. Now in Canada, the sidewalks have patches of clover instead. And I've just learned they're both from the same family, along with lupine, all kinds of beans, and the Red Bird of Paradise.

There's more than one type of movement in this family. All Fabaceae fruits are legumes (or loments), which are commonly dehiscent and split open when dry, to eject seeds far from the parent plant. It can be an explosive spectacle, quite the opposite of the gentle closing of Mimosa leaves. Some even do the twist!

As the third largest plant family in the world, Fabaceae gives us a lot to work with. Here are some resources to get you started:
Ask an Expert: Fabulous Fabaceae! (Hoyt Arboretum Blog)Fabaceae (UBC Blog)Exploding Seed Pods (Biodiversity Shorts)Legumes (iNaturalist)Fabaceae (WFO Plant List)Lower Classifications of Fabaceae (Google)

NOTICES

This is a paid opportunity. There is no submission fee.​ The ten printed artists will each be given a $50 CAD honorarium and a copy of the pocket guide. The selection of works is based on presenting the diversity of the plant family (only one of each species/genus will be selected), presenting a range of artistic styles, and how the works complement each other in different folds of the guide.​

Works not selected for print will be published in an online exhibit on this website. Artists who have not yet been printed will be prioritized in all future issues.

All artists will be credited and retain the copyright of their work.​

WHAT TO SUBMIT

YOUR WORK
Max. two works
High resolution image (300 dpi)
Must depict (realistic or abstract or otherwise) a plant from the Fabaceae family
Must fit within a 10.5 cm wide x 14.8 cm tall layout (portrait orientation is preferred)
Include in file name: species/genus of the plant + art medium + your name
ABOUT YOU
Artist's name
100-word biography (Note: Significantly longer bios will be trimmed.)
Website and/or social media handles
DEADLINE
27 October, 2024
Feel free to reach out if you need a bit more time.
SEND TO
abunchofguide@gmail.com

Tips to boost your chances of getting printed

TIP #1
Do some digging! Create your work based on a plant that's not so well known. The print selection is partly based on the intent to showcase a diverse range of plants. If your work is singular in covering a genus or species, your chances of getting printed will be higher.
TIP #2
Make sure your images are of high enough quality to be printed beautifully. 300 dpi is the minimum standard. File size is a non-issue. If it's not quite there, you're still welcome to submit them for the online exhibit.
TIP #3
If you want to include multiple plants in your work, ensure the plant you're mainly depicting is the focus of the work. Otherwise, the work will be fast-tracked for the online exhibit.
TIP #4
This might seem obvious.. but please check that your plant is from the correct family! Submissions received on plants outside the current issue's family will be kept on file for future issues, but there's no telling when the issue on that plant will be produced.