Several months ago, I created a squirrel brooch, which I then neglected to photograph for quite some time. Initially, I was planning to offer it by itself in my Etsy Shop, but after seeing it on my desk for so long, a new idea crossed my mind. I wondered if it can serve more than... Continue Reading →
The Brain Project – work in progress
The Brain Project Earlier this year, my proposal got accepted to "The Brain Project" by Yogen Fruz and the Baycrest Foundation in Toronto. I was so excited when I got the acceptance email! As far as I remember, this is the first time I actually drew out the whole project before making it. My usual... Continue Reading →
This is how SciArt ideas are born
Last year, while going through the SciArt Center residency program, I wrote a blog post about how I start planning out new projects and how my “blueprints” turn into 3-dimensional artwork. In contrast to (likely) most artists, my sketchbook contains more writing than drawing. This is how I capture ideas about different options that I... Continue Reading →
The Retina – Part IV
Moving from right to left, I was working on filling in all of the empty spaces with the orange beads that represented nuclei of cells in the background. It was taking much longer than I expected, so I decided to take a break at have some fun at this point. While listening to the podcast... Continue Reading →
The Retina – Part III
After returning from the winter break, I was eager to start working with the next color - orange. This turned out to be a very slow and painstakingprocess. These orange beads are a bit larger than the seed beads that I typically use and they needed to be tightly packed. I often struggle with turning off the scientific... Continue Reading →
The Retina – Part II
After finishing the SciArt Center residency with Darcy Johnson, I eagerly returned to this project. It is based on a pretty well known sciart image of a mouse retina, which is much more complex than those on which I've based most of my previous work. I knew that this project would take a very long time to... Continue Reading →
The Retina – Part I
Since starting to create SciArt out of beads in 2016, I have mostly been making framed canvases with one or several central objects, mostly neuronal cells. These works were meant to resemble images acquired under a fluorescence microscope, primarily coming from in vitro neuronal cultures, which I have worked with so much in the lab.... Continue Reading →
On letting go of control and importance of perspective…
SciArt Center Art Residency Program Week 14 - originally published on 12/21/18 Continuing in the theme of balancing the structured scientific method and free play (as Darcy writes about this week), I keep struggling with letting go. I strive for scientific accuracy, yet sometimes you need to decide what to keep and what to leave... Continue Reading →
Unlocking the creative block
SciArt Center Art Residency Program Week 13 - originally published on 12/13/18 The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur. After completing several layers of cells, I have hit a wall and decided that I needed a break from this project. I feel like it is the time to decide on where... Continue Reading →
Purity of technique
SciArt Center Art Residency Program Week 12 - originally published on 12/5/18 As I have mentioned before, most of the time, art and science coexist in my brain. While the setting, such as being at work vs. at home, may dictate which side dominates, the other side rarely shuts off. In my scientific career, I... Continue Reading →
