Sentient Sidewalk
Authored and illustrated by Nikki Scioscia, Sentient Sidewalk: Lessons From New York City’s Wild Medicinal Plants follows her discovery of medicinal plants and personal growth after moving to Brooklyn. Both a story and a field guide, this art book illustrates the multicultural, medicinal, and mystical attributes of nine plants (and fungi) that thrive in New York City: mugwort, reishi, datura, pokeweed, ginkgo, hawthorn, violet, clover, and dandelion.
With lush black ink illustrations that educate and inspire, Sentient Sidewalk is intended for readers who strive to connect with plants — and their own resilience — wherever they live. Sentient Sidewalk has earned recognition from American Illustration 42 and 3x3 Annual 20, and it can be found in the permanent library collection of the New York Botanical Garden.
Publication
Format: Softcover with saddle-stitch binding
Process: Risograph, printed by Small Editions in Brooklyn
Size: 7x10” ; Pages: 28
Publication: Second Edition, August 2022
Copyright: Nikki Scioscia, 2022
Recognition
3x3 International Illustration 20: Merit (Sentient Sidewalk) — NYC, 2023
American Illustration 42: Chosen (Reishi page) — NYC, 2023
Thanks to the Department of Information for this book review:
“While the incredibly detailed and mesmerizing artwork is reason enough to pick up this book, the succinct but deliberate anecdotes about the commonality and usefulness of native wild plants and fungi would pique the interest of any concrete-pilled residents of the city looking to expand on their knowledge of our natural, local ecological microcosm.” - Department of Information
Stockists*
231 11th Ave, New York, NY 10001
540 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
128 E 63rd St, New York, NY 10065
146 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
3038 Steinway St, Queens, NY 11103
810 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
394 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
453 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
730 Franklin Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238
39 Lower Main St, Callicoon, NY 12723
*past & present
Photo by Klara Kudlacek
Photo by Department of Information