While researching towards The Enlightenment Project, Marian Maguire renewed her interest in botanical drawings which describe growth patterns, how the plumbing of plants works and how they reproduce. She had earlier been inspired by the drawings of Sydney Parkinson which were made during the voyage of the Endeavour. The simplified depictions of stems and leaves found in ancient Greek vase painting have also worked their way into her aesthetic.

Plants are naturally rhythmic. They grow according to a pre-ordained pattern with variation only occurring when there is fluctuation in the environment, eg. more or less light, water, wind, food, space. The consistency of a plant’s intention - its adaptive persistence - is something Maguire very much likes and takes time to observe both in her garden and in the natural world.

Many of these images flow onward from her geometric work, albeit more curvaceously. In some she ruffles the rhythm. In others there is a nod towards Gordon Walters and his use of the koru, itself a derivation of growth patterns.