“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”-William Arthur Ward This quote was put up on a screen at our Chief Scientific Officer's retirement party back in 2017. While the party was very nice and well-intentioned on the surface, in reality it was a forced retirement.... Continue Reading →
Drumroll please – introducing “Wilting Mind”
“Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.”- Leonardo da Vinci I haven't heard this quote before. By some strange coincidence I accidentally came across it only a few weeks ago, as I was thinking of writing a... Continue Reading →
Why is art so rewarding to the brain?
Several years ago, I received a comment on my website stating that: Work and chores get done, because the world needs them to be done. #Art gets done because there is an internal need for it to happen.Tweet I grew up doing a lot of arts and crafts, which did not necessarily stem from the... Continue Reading →
Propping up the cells
I am falling a little behind on posting these here, so I will put this blog post from the SciArt Residency program in quotes. Last week, Darcy, Kate and I had a very productive Skype call, where I expressed my concern about the technical challenges of attaching the beaded cells to the canvas in a... Continue Reading →
Scientist’s lab notebook vs. artist’s sketchbook
Recently, Darcy and I have been discussing the parallel aspects that are present in the daily lives of artists and scientists. One topic that has repeatedly come up is the comparison scientists’ lab notebooks and artists’ sketchbooks. In both professions, these records serve as a place to document methods, results and progress over time. They... Continue Reading →
Why do we need art?
Over the last few weeks, SciArt Residency partner Darcy and I spoke a lot about the reasons for needing art in our life. This question probably has different answers from the perspective of the artist and the viewer, but I in this post I will try to scratch the surface of the artist’s side. ... Continue Reading →
“The Mind” – an artistic experiment – Part II
This work and its counterpart started out as a little sketch in my bullet journal. I had the idea of creating two "identical" pictures. One showing empty space in the shape of a neuron and the other being its mirror image that is filled with an actual cell. Here's the birth certificate of this idea.... Continue Reading →
Role of art in science, education and medicine
For centuries art has been used as a universal method of communication. Art can portray outer and inner beauty, emotional state, or a fleeting feeling. It can attract a viewer's attention to the big picture by portraying an overarching message, or a tiny detail emphasizing a very personal experience. Here I will describe how scientifically... Continue Reading →