Botanical illustration
Ilil has a life-long interest in
natural history, particularly botany. She has killed her first cactus at age
four by lovingly over watering it, but fortunately as time passed she
learned how to do better. Residing in Manhattan, she still has a houseful of
plants; Cat Morticia (miniature black panther) and Cat Roger (see photo)
love to prowl the urban indoor jungle. Despite the fact that her degree is
in mythology and folklore, and that later she moved into fulltime writing,
Ilil started her career as a scientific illustrator, and leaning toward
botanical and zoological art was natural. She learned her trade as a senior
artist at Scientific American Magazine, and received a certificate of
Horticulture from Penn State Agricultural College when she spent a few years
in a more rural environment. This led to a series of illustrated natural
history articles for the award-winning Science Probe Magazine. The
series of illustrated books from Dover, all botanical, shows this aspect of
her career best.