an index of botanical desires - notes on touch 

madeline cass, 2025

8.5 × 11”, wire-o binding

images collected from fragments of The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening by T.H. Everett

assembled by hand, for hands

1st edition, special edition of 25

plant thief press

ISBN 979-8-89940-411-5

Each zine is printed, bound and packaged by hand in my studio.

The special edition of 25 includes:

• Pastel hand-colored elements throughout, each unique

• A packet of Midwestern grown pollinator wildflower seeds

• Facsimile introduction and Index pages from original encyclopedias in salmon pink stock

• Hand painted protective plastic cover with handwritten title

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My perennial interest in the relationship between humans and nature is often centered upon the sense of touch. How do we use our bodies to relate to our environment? What can we learn from touching, carrying, holding, stroking?

"It is the body that knows how to touch what is invisible. It is the body that guides the hand to find what is hidden, what is lost." — Clarice Lispector, Água Viva