Malaika Ross

Hi friends! Moving forward, I'll only be posting on two platforms: Instagram and Substack. Here are the links:
www.instagram.com/malaikaross_...
substack.com/@malaikaross

Happy Juneteenth! I’m so grateful for all my ancestors who fought and gave their lives for our freedom and mine. Where would I be without them? This is The Messenger, the one who travels by foot through my Novel Landscape to share vital information with its inhabitants; Black women. #juneteenth

Artmaking is my safe space, especially during times like these. Amid the anxiety, frustration, and shock I’m experiencing in response to the actions of our current administration, I find safety in artmaking, protesting, and spending time observing the natural world. Image: Novel Botanical 20

You’re invited to experiment, connect with plants in a new way, and create small nature-inspired paintings. All materials are provided, including pre-printed illustrations if you’d prefer not to draw freehand. No experience necessary, just bring your curiosity! cummingtonculture.art?fbclid=PAQ0x...

Maple samaras play an important role in my art. Since 2021, these winged seeds have quietly rooted themselves in my paintings. My latest botanical Substack post reflects on the maple’s abolitionist ties and how it has nurtured me without my awareness. Read it here: malaikarossbotanical.substack.com

I’ve been painting through the lens of climate uncertainty by imagining plant worlds full of adaptability, surprise, and quiet beauty. My Novel Botanical series explores what beauty might emerge in our changing world. You can read more about Novel Botanical here: malaikarossbotanical.substack.com

New post on my Substack: "Leading Through Survival: Art as Public Service." In it, I share how surviving breast cancer inspired The Visibility Project, turning illness into art that fosters healing, leadership, and meaningful public service. Read the full post at malaikaross.substack.com

Malaika Ross on Substack I’ve been thinking about the next painting in my Novel Botanical series. These are paintings about native and introduced flora in Western Massachusetts in the age of climate change and how plants will...

substack.com/@malaikaross...

New post on my Novel Botanical Substack. "Why Novel Botanical? Why Now? Ecologies Imagined: Novel Botanical for an Evolving World malaikarossbotanical.substack.com/.../why-nove....
Image: Novel Botanical 17: Novel Spring 3 (2025). Watercolor and ink on paper. 7 x 10 x .01 in.
#botanical #watercolor

Beautiful!

Only one spot left in my Expressive Botanical Workshop at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA! Here's the link to register.
canvas.snowfarm.org/classes/2879

Beautiful!

Thank you for all you're doing to raise awareness.

I'm excited to share I've published my first post about my botanical artwork on Substack! Substack gives me the space to share more than just images —it allows me to share the full scope of my creative practice. You can read my post here: malaikarossbotanical.substack.com/p/what-insta...

Beautiful!

If they exist, I'm interested in seeing plant life on this exoplanet.

New on my Substack:
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. In my latest post, A Life Transformed by a Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Balancing Creative Practice with a Complex Medical Regimen, I reflect on navigating life and a creative practice after diagnosis.
open.substack.com/pub/malaikar...

My spring newsletter is out!
You can find my quarterly newsletter here: mailchi.mp/02429bd3318b...
You can sign up for my newsletter here: mailchi.mp/99379827bfd5...

Patience seems to be the name of the game in spring in the hilltowns of Massachusetts. Here's one of my first paintings of spring 25.
Spring Botanical 1
Watercolor, gouache and ink on paper.
7 w x 10 h x .01 d inches
Original and print available here: shop.hopeandfeathersframing.com/collections/...

I’m so grateful spring is here! And with it comes the continuation of my novel botanical series.
Novel Botanical 15: Novel Spring 2 with novel tulips (2024)
Watercolor and ink on paper
7 x 10 in. Original and prints available at
shop.hopeandfeathersframing.com/collections/...

Happy Spring Equinox! The daffodil offers a timely lesson—warning those in power against falling in love with their own reflection, their narrow view of the world, at the great expense of countless lives. And yet, despite it all, spring is here—a reminder that renewal is always possible.

New Writing in my Substack. open.substack.com/pub/malaikar...

As part of my solo exhibit, The Soil Beneath Us, I’m hosting a community art workshop focused on drawing and painting seeds—essential life forms that give rise to trees, flowers, fruits, and the plants that sustain our local ecosystems.

libcal.library.umass.edu/event/142080...

My solo exhibition, The Soil Beneath Us, is on view at the UMass Science & Engineering Library, 2nd floor, Lederle GRC Lowrise, 740 North Pleasant St., UMass Amherst. The exhibition features ten prints alongside twenty original drawings. Reception will be on Fri. 4/11, 1-3 pm

New in my Substack!
open.substack.com/pub/malaikar...

The postcard for March goes out on Wed. 3/12. You can sign up for postcards here...https://www.patreon.com/malaikaross_studio?fbclid=PAY2xjawIpYQlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpngLYjPdPab7ZArm3gzfh8Ogut5FSo0jYgm0ZpcwyBDa-SmZDI7ok21odg_aem_aZcSyUfiXvSPMU8k0kDVIQ

Thinking about Nikki Giovanni's Winter Poem on these very cold winter days.

Image
Novel Botanical 13: Novel Winter 1 with novel winterberry and novel balsam fir
8.5 x 8.5 in.
Watercolor and ink on paper
2024

What's love got to do with it? These days I'm thinking a lot about love as resistance and how that intertwines with human rights and living in this Black body. In today's Substack. open.substack.com/pub/malaikar...

Hello friends! Please join me as I lead an exciting and fun workshop sharing my expressive approach to botanical painting at Snow Farm, Williamsburg, MA this spring!
⁠
Registration for my workshop, "Expressive Botanical Painting," is now open website www.snowfarm.org

Hope to see you there!

February postcard mails out Friday, Feb. 7
You can sign up here: www.patreon.com/malaikaross_...