Art Workshop: Drawing Herbarium Specimens through a Microscope
Date & Time
This is a two-part class:
Sunday, January 25, 2026
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and
Sunday, February 1, 2026
10 a.m. – 1 p.m
This event is in the past.
Tickets
$200 per person
Registration coming soon!
Location
Hitchcock Hall
2nd Floor Biology Lab
University of Washington Campus
Join botanical illustrator Crystal Shin for an introductory course in creating scientific botanical illustrations. In this class, Crystal will guide you through the nature and purpose of botanical illustration and introduce the process of working from herbarium specimens.
This is an introductory class and is open to all skill levels, offering a rare opportunity to study and draw herbarium material up close, gaining a deeper understanding of botanical structure through careful, scientific observation.
The class will work primarily with graphite pencils and/or pen and ink. Herbarium specimens will be provided by the UW Herbarium, a part of the Burke Museum.
You will practice close observation of plant morphology — examining minute details under a microscope — and learn how to interpret and draw dried, pressed specimens while thoughtfully reconstructing their more natural appearance. The focus will be on clearly communicating the morphological characteristics that define a species, while exploring line work and accurate botanical forms in black-and-white media.
Materials to bring:
– Drawing paper for sketches and preliminary drawings and or tracing paper (suggested: Canson brand)
– Paper for ink illustration (suggested: Strathmore Bristol Smooth Surface 400 or 500 series, 9"x12" size)
– Black fine liner pens in nib sizes 003, 005, and 01 (suggested: Sakura Pigma Micron, Uni Pen, Copic)
– Pencil
– Erasers, plastic eraser and kneaded eraser
– Small plastic ruler
– Magnifying glass
– Carbon graphite paper
– Artist tape
– Drawing board or pad to hold your sheet of paper
– X-acto knife
– A lightbox for transferring a drawing will be available to share at the workshop
About the Artist
Crystal Shin is a botanical artist and natural science illustrator known for her detailed, scientifically accurate plant drawings. She completed the Natural Science Illustration Certificate program at the University of Washington and served as the primary botanical illustrator for the second edition of Flora of the Pacific Northwest for the UW Herbarium at the Burke Museum, creating 882 illustrations. She continues to work with the Herbarium as a botanical illustrator, and her artwork has been featured in various scientific journals and publications.
Crystal has taught widely for botanical organizations and art institutions across the country including Gage Academy of Art, the Washington Native Plant Society, Pacific Northwest Botanical Artists, the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Northwest Chapter, the New York Botanical Garden, and the American Society of Botanical Artists. As an instructor, she combines deep experience as a botanical illustrator with an intuitive understanding of color, helping students build confidence through clear guidance and practical techniques.
