Last weekend, I was assaulted on the street in broad daylight. I was walking on the sidewalk and a woman crossed the street to come and yell at me for no reason. In more colorful language than I am willing to write here, she told me to get out of there, spit at me and... Continue Reading →
Nerve trauma and how glial cells can help
Some people have asked me why I only share my artistic side on my website. Where is the science? After all, I should start practicing what I preach and explaining science to people who don't deal with it every day. Well, exciting news! Starting this week, I will be alternating posts where I show updates... Continue Reading →
How important is artist’s purity of technique?
Several weeks ago, my husband and I got a rare opportunity to spend the whole day together - just the two of us. With full time jobs (despite COVID-19) and the "second shift" of raising two kids, it really feels like a luxury. Ever since we met in graduate school 15 years ago, we have... Continue Reading →
Attraction, 2019 – Stem cells travel to Canada
The stem cell revolution When I was in graduate school, I had to perform weekly dissections of neonatal rat brains to isolate primary neurons for my experiments. It was not a particularly enjoyable process and an ungrateful one too. After spending 2 – 3 hours meticulously dissecting a dozen brains under a microscope, I would... Continue Reading →
My artwork “Fragile Memory” made the cover of Biological Psychiatry journal!
The secret is finally out! I am so excited to share that one of my favorite works "Fragile Memory", that is based on a microscopy image of the hippocampus of a Brainbow mouse, is featured on the cover of Biological Psychiatry journal! I just received the journal in the mail last week! For the last... Continue Reading →
Looking for inspiration for a new mental health SciArt series
This blog post was originally published on Lifeology on 7/16/20. For the past few months, I have been dabbling in small projects here and there, but have kind of put an unintentional hold on my real SciArt. Of course, I created the sculpture for “The Brain Project” for a summer exhibition in Toronto. But otherwise... Continue Reading →
Lost and found – on passions and the sense of personal identity
I have been trying to think back to the first time I felt prompted to create art. While definitely not proportional to the number of years, my life seems to be split into 2 parts - before and after moving from Russia to the United States. I believe I became more serious about creating art... Continue Reading →
“Fragile Memory”, 2019
After I created "Fragile Memory" in the end of 2019, it quickly became one of my favorite pieces. Yet I forgot to post its story on the blog - how silly of me! "Fragile Memory" is based on an image of the hippocampus – the part of the brain that is responsible for forming new... Continue Reading →
The “Hope” series is featured in the Spring 2020 edition of GASHER Journal
I am honored that GASHER Journal has accepted my "Hope" series to their Spring 2020 edition. Here is the summary of my featured works. All of them are available for sale here. About the Artwork: Grief is a strong emotional response to a crisis and can come in many forms. It may come from losing... Continue Reading →
Choosing art, science or both
My initial art was centered around trauma at the cellular level. Several years later, this work came to represent a painful personal experience.
