Evolution of ideas

The original idea for my current project was inspired by a specific series of events in my life last year.  To me, using the layers of neurons in this work represents certain layers of my knowledge, interests and passions, which have been temporarily covered up and moved to the back burner.   Looking through my... 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 →

Creating art using the STEAM method

Last weekend, I mostly finished sewing the first layer of yellow rondelle beads.  In the original microscopy image, the cell nuclei were colored bright blue, due to being labeled with Hoechst stain, which labels DNA.  In Darcy’s version of the image, she switched this color to pale yellow, which makes them look more delicate and... Continue Reading →

The creative process

After settling on creating “Mapping Manhattan”, this week I finally got a chance to go out and buy some supplies, including a canvas and beads.  I painted the canvas with black paint (though it ended up looking a bit like wood in the photo) to create the background that is typical for fluorescence microscopy images.... Continue Reading →

Mapping Manhattan

Darcy and I have decided to move forward with the image she called “Mapping Manhattan”.  From the beginning of our collaboration, I told Darcy that I would like to create something that would represent the synthesis of the field of neuroscience and the context of New York.  Initially, I sent her a sketch that I... Continue Reading →

Trash or treasure?

What defines a success or failure?  Does it depend on objective data or a subjective opinion?  And following that, can there be different views of the same physical object?  Also, how much of this should be defined by the informed originator versus the unknowing spectator?  During one of our conversations with Darcy and Kate, we... 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 →

Is art creation logical or intuitive?

Several years ago, as I was working on developing my scientific career, I was presented with the Myers-Briggs test.  Myers-Briggs test is a widely accepted assessment of one’s own personality.  It is meant to provide information to begin understanding your own qualities.  This includes identifying your strengths and weaknesses and finding ways to take the... Continue Reading →

Why I am interested in cross-disciplinary collaboration

Now that I have joined the SciArt Center Bridge Residency program, I will be writing weekly blog posts about my progress in collaborating with Darcy Johnson.  The posts will be published on the program website and I will be re-posting them here to continue using my blog for tracing the development of my art over... Continue Reading →

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