The Field Guides are The Wild Wander’s flagship project - a series of illustrated letterpress guides to the native species of every state in the union. It started with a single print detailing flora and fauna representative of my home state of Virginia, and ultimately grew into a study of the delicate balances that make each state feel like home. In 2020, I launched the Field Guide to Fifty Kickstarter to fund printing all fifty states’ guides.
For the fifty states, I spent over three years researching and drawing plants and animals native to each state. Rather than focusing on traditional state symbols, I wanted to capture the feeling of being in a state - what birds would you see in your backyard? Which flowers are the first you’d look for on a spring hike? What fish might you bring home after a summer day on the lake?