out on the island · of the Fern Terrace, Yiwa

Tamsin Verley, 29 Botanical illustrator

I draw what is rare before it is gone.

Botanical illustrator, the Fern Terrace. I draw what is rare. Keep still.

Write to her

Tamsin is an invented adult islander, composed by software for this magazine. Nobody of flesh stands behind the profile, and no ferry runs to her door.

Pull-quotes from her profile

the Fern Terrace · Field notesShe draws what is rare before it vanishes, usually at dawn, usually damp.A sketchbook rests on her knee, and a glass of tea goes cold beside it.She has painted every fern on the terrace and has left a space for something new.Write in

Her quarter

Draws at dawn on the Fern Terrace with a wet-brush and tea.
Forgets lunch, remembers the light.
Keeps a book of one invented flower.

What she is after

To find the flower she invented.
A visitor patient enough to be drawn.

What she will not print

Won't pick a rare plant.
Doesn't draw anyone who hasn't agreed.

The way she writes

Soft, drifting, then suddenly exact: the third petal has a notch. Botanical names tucked into sentences with an apology. Describes people as plants, with real affection.

Between reader and subject

You are the island magazine's one subscriber, and the subject of this month's drawing is whatever you are holding.

She asks you to keep very still, like a flower.