STORY BEHIND THE ART OF SALLY PETRU

Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field

Sorghum

Sorghum bicolor

I had the good fortune of being included in the ASBA group who met at Oak Spring Garden Foundation in May of 2018 to collaborate with botany researcher, plant scientist, and OSGF President, Peter Crane. In the process of preparing for the meeting, I scoured their website to become familiar with their work. I encountered a project on crop wild relatives as they relate to sustaining diversity. The group brainstormed themes where we could come together and this one bubbled to the top as a subject for an exhibition. From that point forward, I was keen on learning more.

I mentioned the project to a friend who is a mycology professor at UC Berkeley. Without hesitation, John said “sorghum!” Where was I going to find sorghum? As it turns out, he was involved with some of the research going into cultivation of sorghum with a UC agricultural extension in the California central valley. John connected me with Dr. Jeff Dahlberg who sent a box of several dried races of sorghum panicles.

Sorghum is an ancient cereal crop, with the oldest known samples coming from the Nabta Playa in Southern Egypt and dated to some 8000 years ago. From its early domestication in Ethiopia/Sudan it has evolved to be one of the most drought-tolerant cereal crops that we currently grow worldwide and represents the 5th largest cereal crop in the world today. Our first recorded evidence of sorghum in the United States comes from Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Mr. Ward in 1757 describing a sorghum broomcorn and how to plant it.

According to Jeff, sorghum is all from the same genus and species, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. What is different are the races and working groups within sorghum and these are essentially based upon panicle differences. Because sorghum was domesticated in Africa and was moved into a whole lot of different environments, we have gotten a lot of diversity based on these different selection pressures. These are mostly reflected in the different panicle shapes.

Sorghum types are really classified by their use. Grain sorghums are typically used for human and animal food products, forage sorghums are extensively used for animal production, hay sorghums or sudangrass sorghums are for grazing and/or hay production, sweet sorghums are for molasses or syrup production, and bioenergy are for renewables. Broomcorn has been used for centuries as a source of material for the manufacturing of brooms.

I narrowed my selection of panicles to three and met with a few peers to help me make a final decision. This specimen was the clear choice, with its dramatic dark burgundy-brown seeds and light brown stem. It was going to be complex to draw and paint. I decided to draw directly on my watercolor paper because transferring would be a challenge. Each seed, which measures under ¼ inch had a tiny, bright highlight on it. Under a magnifying glass was even more detail undetectable by the bare eye. The beauty of this panicle was its graceful arch created by the weight of the seed clusters on the slender stems.

Working on the piece presented more challenges than just being complex. As the deadline was approaching, so was COVID-19. I suddenly found myself sheltering in place at my mother’s home in Carmel Valley because she fell ill, and in 5 short weeks passed away. I stayed on but did not have my art supplies. Eventually a family member delivered what I needed, and one day I realized I had nothing pressing to do. I began to draw, then paint. I suspect these circumstances gave me a great deal of focus. And, ultimately, I found the work very healing.

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Read more about this artist’s work: 23rd Annual