An update from Michael S. Ford, Ph.D.

From Michael Steven Ford, Ph.D. 92* IL:

I am reaching out as a RISD alum of the Illustration department. I was just updating my RISD alumni information and I read about Visual Narratives that Inspire Change and saw the quote, "We’re looking for inspiration in the work of various artists who address the impact of human activity on nature.” This is exactly what I have been focusing on for the past several years, and what I pursued in higher education when I completed my RISD experience back in 1992.

I was very interested in scientific and botanical illustration and loved the RISD Nature Lab, so I enrolled at University of Rhode Island and began pursuing a botany degree. The botanical taxonomy inspired me to double major in Classics. My interests continued in studying medicinal plants after completing those degrees ('98), and I enrolled in the URI Pharmacy Department as a doctoral student in the field of pharmacognosy/natural product chemistry. I became a natural product formulator, with a specialty in organic natural skincare, and with my own company, Apollo Herbs. I was also a graduate assistant, teaching labs for several years, and then I unexpectedly won an assistantship in the URI education dept., so I stayed on for two more years after completing my Doctorate in Pharmacognosy ('05), and received a MA in Adult Education ('07).

I have since relocated to Orange County, California, where I have my studio, Michael Steven Ford Fine Art. I am now weaving my art, science and education backgrounds together. I have just completed writing and illustrating my first book, An Illuminated History of Rhode Island. As part of my historical research and illustration work, I received the "Stand Strong Award" from the Anne Hutchinson Foundation in 2016. This award was received alongside Valerie Debrule, owner of the Deblois Gallery in Newport, RI, and presented by former governor Michael Dukakis at the Boston State House. We were honored for creating the Anne Hutchinson Memorial at Founders' Brook Park in Portsmouth, RI, which includes a dye garden and midwifery garden, honoring women in history.

I have embarked on a second book, which I plan to call Illuminated Phytochemistry. For this book, I am creating illuminated art that blends botanical illustration with medicinal plant chemistry and provides a visual narrative for those interested in art, science and ecological consciousness. When I saw that my former professor Jean Blackburn is now teaching about this at RISD, it inspired me to share the work that I am doing now. Although it has been a while, I still remember all of the great professors at RISD. My RISD experience influenced my whole life path.

I am attaching a few of my recent works, and including a link to my Pinterest page, which hosts a much larger collection of my artwork if you are interested in seeing more. I am very pleased to see that RISD continues to offer such interesting, socially and ecologically-relevant courses in its curriculum.