Malaika Ross is a Caribbean American artist living in Western Massachusetts. She integrates shapes and patterns developed in her microbial drawings of soil microbes into contemporary botanical paintings of native and introduced flora. She earned her B.A. from Hampshire College with a focus in soil microbiology. She studied Painting and Drawing at RISD and completed intensive coursework in sustainable farming, ecological restoration and Hawaiian ethnobotany at the University of Hawai’i, Hilo.