INK-DWELL
RENDERINGS OF LIFE by JANE KIM
Inspiring people to love, appreciate and protect the Earth one work of art at a time.
Posts
September 02, 04:25 PM
So for the last few days, I've been updating my websites and my online presence. It sort of feels like I'm trying to pick out the perfect outfit and I've changed a million times.
The funny thing is, I sort of always come back to the same feel. That's sort of comforting, you know? It's like showing up in something that you feel confident no one else is wearing yet you still look like you.
So here I am: www.ink-dwell.com
From there, you can stay connected to me via Facebook, website, or blog. The cool thing is that you can see all of these different media outlets from one page!
The funny thing is, I sort of always come back to the same feel. That's sort of comforting, you know? It's like showing up in something that you feel confident no one else is wearing yet you still look like you.
So here I am: www.ink-dwell.com
From there, you can stay connected to me via Facebook, website, or blog. The cool thing is that you can see all of these different media outlets from one page!
September 01, 04:10 PM
After long, serious consideration, I've decided to join Facebook.
It's time to build Ink-Dwell!
You can also follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/inkdwelljanekim AND my FB Page HERE.
It's time to build Ink-Dwell!
You can also follow me here: http://www.facebook.com/inkdwelljanekim AND my FB Page HERE.
August 02, 05:10 PM
Here are some highlights at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (not in any particular order):
Learning how to skin and stuff...
Observing many birds raising their young - Great Blue Herons, Canadian Geese, American Crows...
The afternoon I was fortunate enough to meet world renowned cinematographer/photographer, Neil Rettig and his astounding Harpy Eagle...seriously amazing...
Going out in the field to survey Tree Swallow nest boxes....
Learning how to skin and stuff...
Observing many birds raising their young - Great Blue Herons, Canadian Geese, American Crows...
The afternoon I was fortunate enough to meet world renowned cinematographer/photographer, Neil Rettig and his astounding Harpy Eagle...seriously amazing...
Going out in the field to survey Tree Swallow nest boxes....
July 16, 06:27 PM
Wow! I think this may be a record for me.
Lesson learned. There is so much that has happened that now I don't even know where to begin.
I suppose I'll start with a gallery of images showcasing my most recent work and news! Hopefully in the not too distant future, I'll post again and give you guys a recap on my time in Ithaca, NY.
Lesson learned. There is so much that has happened that now I don't even know where to begin.
I suppose I'll start with a gallery of images showcasing my most recent work and news! Hopefully in the not too distant future, I'll post again and give you guys a recap on my time in Ithaca, NY.
BREEDING BIOLOGY
I officially finished 3 full-color paintings for use in the third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology. If all goes according to plan, these paintings will open each of the 15 chapters in the book. I had set a goal of getting at least 3 of the 15 finished during my internship and I'm proud to have me that goal! The chapters that I covered are BIRD CONSERVATION, POPULATION BIOLOGY and BREEDING BIOLOGY.
For BIRD CONSERVATION, I was asked to paint three Hawaiian species that are critically endangered, one possibly extinct (Po'ouli). Although they are all from Hawaii, they are found on different islands and at different elevations. One of the beauties of art--you can create worlds that don't exist. The bird in middle is called a Palila and relies solely on the Mamane tree to survive. The brilliant yellow flowers belong to the Mamane. The tree in the background is a Koa and the yellow Honeycreeper at the bottom likes to creep along these trees in search of insects. They are sort of the woodpeckers of Hawaii. The Po'ouli at the very top is believed to be extinct. It searches through mosses and lichens for food and is also distant relatives of Honeycreepers.
POPULATION BIOLOGY is represented through several shorebirds. I guess every time I, personally, think of bird population, images of hundreds and hundreds of shorebirds come to mind. I wanted to capture the feeling of seeing birds scattered across a sandy beach bank. This painting consists of Red Knots, Laughing Gulls, a lone Herring Gull, and some Ruddy Turnstones.
So I already posted the painting for the BREEDING BIOLOGY chapter, but I'm posting it again, because at one point, I looked at the finished painting and decided to redo the background and add a few more Tree Swallows flying around the landscape. It was one of those difficult decisions that everyone makes. It's the kind where you know you're not entirely happy with the final result. Changing it is quite a large commitment and time consuming. Do you really want to do it or are you going to settle? I've never said to myself at the end of the day, "Boy am I glad I settled." So, I tackled the daunting task of repainting a piece I had called finished. I can't even tell you how happy I am that I did. Now this is maybe one of my favorites of the work I did for Cornell.
For BIRD CONSERVATION, I was asked to paint three Hawaiian species that are critically endangered, one possibly extinct (Po'ouli). Although they are all from Hawaii, they are found on different islands and at different elevations. One of the beauties of art--you can create worlds that don't exist. The bird in middle is called a Palila and relies solely on the Mamane tree to survive. The brilliant yellow flowers belong to the Mamane. The tree in the background is a Koa and the yellow Honeycreeper at the bottom likes to creep along these trees in search of insects. They are sort of the woodpeckers of Hawaii. The Po'ouli at the very top is believed to be extinct. It searches through mosses and lichens for food and is also distant relatives of Honeycreepers.
POPULATION BIOLOGY is represented through several shorebirds. I guess every time I, personally, think of bird population, images of hundreds and hundreds of shorebirds come to mind. I wanted to capture the feeling of seeing birds scattered across a sandy beach bank. This painting consists of Red Knots, Laughing Gulls, a lone Herring Gull, and some Ruddy Turnstones.
So I already posted the painting for the BREEDING BIOLOGY chapter, but I'm posting it again, because at one point, I looked at the finished painting and decided to redo the background and add a few more Tree Swallows flying around the landscape. It was one of those difficult decisions that everyone makes. It's the kind where you know you're not entirely happy with the final result. Changing it is quite a large commitment and time consuming. Do you really want to do it or are you going to settle? I've never said to myself at the end of the day, "Boy am I glad I settled." So, I tackled the daunting task of repainting a piece I had called finished. I can't even tell you how happy I am that I did. Now this is maybe one of my favorites of the work I did for Cornell.
BIRDS FOR BIRDSCOPE
BirdScope is a quarterly publication put out by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. It covers all sorts of bird news in a very accessible way. The centerfold is the main attraction with a full-color spread. Usually, one of the Bartels interns will create work for the centerfold and I was asked to create illustrations for the upcoming summer issue. These birds are a little sneak peak into a much larger composition. I'm not sure if I can post the layout draft before it's been published. From left to right: Black-backed Woodpecker, Golden-winged Warbler, Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Magpie, Stilt Sandpiper.
SCREENSHOT FROM THE SURFRIDER STORE
Recently, Surfrider used my knobby starfish drawing to print on bamboo fiber tanks. They are now available for purchase through their online store! I love the way they came out and the tanks are super comfortable.
You can purchase them HERE.
Well, I think this concludes my most recent work. I'm now heading back west to CALIFORNIA!!!! While all of my adventures have been unique and invaluable, I'm certainly ready to wipe my feet on the familiar and very much missed "Home Sweet Home" doormat.
Once I organize my photos, I'd love to share highlights of Ithaca, NY and the Lab with everyone. I will warn you, a lot of it may be written. I was admittedly terrible at taking photos these past 4 months.
Stay tuned!!!
You can purchase them HERE.
Well, I think this concludes my most recent work. I'm now heading back west to CALIFORNIA!!!! While all of my adventures have been unique and invaluable, I'm certainly ready to wipe my feet on the familiar and very much missed "Home Sweet Home" doormat.
Once I organize my photos, I'd love to share highlights of Ithaca, NY and the Lab with everyone. I will warn you, a lot of it may be written. I was admittedly terrible at taking photos these past 4 months.
Stay tuned!!!
May 24, 02:18 PM
One of my projects at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology is to paint frontis pieces for the revision of the Handbook of Bird Biology. There are 15 chapters and they would like a full color painting to open each chapter. I can't tell you how excited I was to get this project and I hope I blow them away.
The above piece is for a chapter called "Breeding Biology. " I worked with an Ornithologists who studies tree swallows. During the nesting season, these birds collect feathers to line their nests. This behavior is known to be an important part of reproductive success and consequently, they compete for feathers.
Wow, tree swallows are beautiful. I love the way they look when they fly and their metallic blue coloring is stunning. Depending on how the lights hits them, their color ranges anywhere from dark grey to electric blue! They are very elegant birds.
One of my most favorite things about working here, is the opportunity to work with experts who really refine the accuracy of my bird art. They just know their subjects sooo well, that they can see even the slightest misrepresentation of form. I love it!
These next two illustrations were for Yosemite National Park. Currently, they are working very hard on the Merced River Plan and these two pieces were used in reports and presentations.
The above piece is for a chapter called "Breeding Biology. " I worked with an Ornithologists who studies tree swallows. During the nesting season, these birds collect feathers to line their nests. This behavior is known to be an important part of reproductive success and consequently, they compete for feathers.
Wow, tree swallows are beautiful. I love the way they look when they fly and their metallic blue coloring is stunning. Depending on how the lights hits them, their color ranges anywhere from dark grey to electric blue! They are very elegant birds.
One of my most favorite things about working here, is the opportunity to work with experts who really refine the accuracy of my bird art. They just know their subjects sooo well, that they can see even the slightest misrepresentation of form. I love it!
These next two illustrations were for Yosemite National Park. Currently, they are working very hard on the Merced River Plan and these two pieces were used in reports and presentations.
RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM of YOSEMITE VALLEY
SEED is a Bay Area branding agency. Their passions and purpose is to honor the burgeoning environmental and social shifts through good design. The clientele are typically in the artisanal and pure foods industry.
Below is a screen shot from their website showcasing one of their clients -- County Line Harvest.
County Line Harvest is an organic farm specializing in unique greens. They have farms in both Northern and Southern California. SEED asked me to create pen & ink drawings for their logos. Pen & ink is one of my favorite mediums so this was definitely a fun project. I loved the way it came out!
Below is a screen shot from their website showcasing one of their clients -- County Line Harvest.
County Line Harvest is an organic farm specializing in unique greens. They have farms in both Northern and Southern California. SEED asked me to create pen & ink drawings for their logos. Pen & ink is one of my favorite mediums so this was definitely a fun project. I loved the way it came out!
Thanks, as always, for stopping by! The support is more than appreciated!!!
:)
April 28, 03:12 PM
Recently, my Migrating Mural Project was voted the Viewers' Choice winner in a competition hosted by National Geographic. Read the interview by clicking below.
CLICK HERE
For those of you who voted for my project, thank you a billion times! This is a tremendous honor and I couldn't have won without your support.
April 16, 04:23 PM
I just won a competition on National Geographic for my Migrating Mural project. National Geographic has been a long time hero of mine and I am honored to the core to be involved with them on any level.
BUT.....
After having won, I realized that I was most moved and most grateful to my friends and family who showed utter support. I am humbled by the experience and it makes me realize the importance of relationships and nourishing the people in my life.
Even if I hadn't won, the emails I was getting from everyone was reward enough and it was an amazing reminder that my world is so good because of the people in it!
April 14, 07:15 PM
The older I get, the more and more I realize how important it is to give back to the planet that has selflessly provided beauty, inspiration, resources, vitality and evolution. What blows my mind are two girls who not only recognized this at an astoundingly young age, but had the ambition to create change as well.
Olivia Bouler's heart reached out in empathy for the birds effected by the BP oil disaster. Her mission was clear. Olivia decided to celebrate shorebirds through art. All the money she earned in sales, she donated to the Audubon Society -- nearly $200,000.
I had the opportunity to meet Olivia at Cornell when she visited two weekends ago. What a poised, elegant, well-spoken young lady at the age of 11!
She has a new book out showcasing a collection of her paintings. Go check it out!
Sophi Bromenshenkel's love of sharks began at the age of 4 on her uncle's fishing boat. They caught a shark and her world changed. Now she wants to change the world for sharks. She has been devoted to raising money for leading shark researcher, Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami. Sophi was able to raise $4000 through lemonade and shark cookies! You can always touch people's hearts with cookies and lemonade.
I found a wonderful drawing on her blog of a hammerhead. I am, of course, unbiased about art. :)
April 13, 01:19 AM
So excited! National Geographic has chosen my project - MIGRATING MURAL - along with 14 other ocean conservation projects in a Viewer's Choice competition. The winner will get an interview with Nat Geo!
I would LOVE your support!
VOTE HERE
Thank you all so much! And send the link on to others!
Below are images of some proposed murals.
I would LOVE your support!
VOTE HERE
Thank you all so much! And send the link on to others!
Below are images of some proposed murals.
April 04, 06:10 PM
These are illustrations of a bartailed godwit and it's air sacs. Cornell is working on a documentary about a bartailed godwit who had a transmitter surgically implanted in its right lower abdominal air sac. With this transmitter, they were able to track the bird in 9 days of STRAIGHT flight from Alaska to New Zealand. These will be used in the documentary. Yipeee!
This is a graphic I created to represent an online course called Short Courses. The bird is one of my favorites - a magpie. It will be used for print and online purposes pertaining to the short course.
This is a graphic I created to represent an online course called Short Courses. The bird is one of my favorites - a magpie. It will be used for print and online purposes pertaining to the short course.
March 27, 01:11 PM
Posted about Summit at Sea AND featured my Migrating Mural!
Find post HERE.
Find post HERE.
April 04, 06:03 PM
Was looking through the web for photo references and came across some bird art and merchandise that I really like.
March 24, 05:32 PM
Was just launched!
http://sharktagyoureit.com/
Shark Tag You're It is a competition for attendees of Summit at Sea to qualify to go shark tagging with leading shark scientist, Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami.
You can read an article that just came out by Fast Company about Summit Series. You can find the article HERE.
Basically, Summit Series hosts an annual conference for some of the world's youngest thought leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers. The industries included are endless from musicians to tech geeks, and athletes to non-profit organizations. It's inspiring because you get an unlikely mix of individuals together in one place building relationships and growing ideas. This year, the conference will take place on an ocean liner leaving Miami, FL to a private island in the Bahamas. Not surprisingly, ocean issues are a big focus this year and shark tagging is just one component to promote the protection of our oceans. I'm super super excited to be attending the conference and submitted my Migrating Mural for Shark Tag You're It. More than that, I can't wait to see what the other attendees submit.
Here's an image of my pitch. I'm itching to start painting some murals when I'm finished with my fellowships!
It's so so exciting to get people motivated and excited about preserving what we have left of our planet! I love it!
http://sharktagyoureit.com/
Shark Tag You're It is a competition for attendees of Summit at Sea to qualify to go shark tagging with leading shark scientist, Neil Hammerschlag of the University of Miami.
You can read an article that just came out by Fast Company about Summit Series. You can find the article HERE.
Basically, Summit Series hosts an annual conference for some of the world's youngest thought leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and thinkers. The industries included are endless from musicians to tech geeks, and athletes to non-profit organizations. It's inspiring because you get an unlikely mix of individuals together in one place building relationships and growing ideas. This year, the conference will take place on an ocean liner leaving Miami, FL to a private island in the Bahamas. Not surprisingly, ocean issues are a big focus this year and shark tagging is just one component to promote the protection of our oceans. I'm super super excited to be attending the conference and submitted my Migrating Mural for Shark Tag You're It. More than that, I can't wait to see what the other attendees submit.
Here's an image of my pitch. I'm itching to start painting some murals when I'm finished with my fellowships!
It's so so exciting to get people motivated and excited about preserving what we have left of our planet! I love it!
March 21, 12:53 PM
The Lab of Ornithology has a skinning lab that I, of course, find incredibly fascinating and useful. While specimens aren't the best reference for helping one capture live movement and feel, it is really useful to be able to see the subject in person. Skinning on the other hand is even more informative. It helps you gain an understanding of anatomy such as skeleton, feather tracts, feet, wings in different positions, etc. A couple of Fridays again, I experienced my first ever skinning. They started me off with a robin. It was really old and sitting in the freezer since 2006 so it wasn't the best one to start off on. So we decided to skin this for a spread wing sample and skeleton rather than a stuffed specimen for the collection. This was actually great because it gave me a chance to get a feel for skinning without having to make sure I didn't rip or damage the skin. Took a bit of pressure off. One of my favorite parts was observing how and where feathers attach on the tail. This will be so helpful when drawing the bird with a poor photo reference.
Here are some pictures I took of birds in the collection and the skinning. Some of the pics can be a bit graphic. Sorry about that!
Here are some pictures I took of birds in the collection and the skinning. Some of the pics can be a bit graphic. Sorry about that!
March 05, 05:05 PM
DIANE TESSAGLIA-HYMES
This the director of the Bartels Science Illustration Internship. She's awesome. Diane obviouslycares very much for each person that comes through and does what she can to make them feel very welcome and taken care of. I'm really excited to be working with her. She gave me a tour of the facilities and I was so inspired by it, I ended up taking almost 100 pictures on my first day. I won't post all of them, but as a warning, this post will have a lot.
MAIN LOBBY
The small pond of water is actually heated by Cornell so that there is a spot for the ducks all winter long. I don't get how they sit on the snow like that. I understand that their well insulated, but I always get really cold looking at them.
I share the space with the other intern--Evartisto Hernandez Fernandez. I love his name! He is quite talented and his work is beautiful. I don't have a pic of one of his full color acrylic paintings, but I do have a pic of one of his studies. I love seeing that sort of thing.
I think one of my favorite moments of my first day was walking into the staff lounge where our work stations are and seeing on the white board, a drawing of this....
This is Bender from Futurama, one of my all time favorite shows in the whole world. I gave Evaristo a big hug when I found out that he drew it. Did I just reveal too much of my dorkiness?
The Lab has a wonderful little library, again with a ton of windows, and a little area in the back where you're surrounded by them.
One of the other things I really appreciated about the Lab is all the art that's hanging throughout the building. It was eye candy for me. I spent a good portion of my first day looking at all of it.
One artist that Cornell that is particularly relevant the Lab of Ornithology is Louis Agassiz Fuertes. He was an alumnus of Cornell and a really influential wildlife artist of his time and beyond. I took a few photos of his work and his Wikipedia page has a handful of really stunning works.
I really appreciate the two paintings below because he did something that most people (including myself) don't normally do. He put the birds in their setting as well as show how they camouflage so well in their environment. I love that. At first glance, you don't even really notice that there are birds.
These black & whites were donated after being found in the trash at the publishing house Fuertes created these for. It's crazy to me that they were thrown out. I always forget that there are people out there who couldn't care less about art. I'm so glad they were found and salvaged.
Fuertes completed many many commissions in his day. The Lab is pretty lucky to have a pretty big one passed down to them. Fuertes was commissioned by one of his friends to create panels for his study. When his friend passed, Cornell got a hold of each of these panels and reused them to build an auditorium--The Fuertes Room. On display right outside, Cornell also has the sketches of each of these panels Fuertes painted as an example of the final pieces.
Here are some pictures of other pieces that I particularly like. You can also see the full art collection HERE.
THIS ONE IS ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITES
So the painting above is by Charley Harper. He is well-known for his highly stylized paintings of wildlife. This painting was commissioned by the Bartels (creators of the Bartel's Science Illustration Internship) specifically for Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. These are many of the birds found in Ithaca hovering over the Lab. Cornell also hosts exhibitions of bird art and Harper is the current exhibit. Don't know if you noticed, but they used one of his birds in their logo. I love his work. Stylization is sort of difficult for me and when I see other's doing it so beautifully, I'm always very impressed. I tend to get too caught up in the realism of the animal and even the one's that are more stylized always end up having a bit of realism.
Let's see....I should wrap this up. Here are some more pics of cases containing taxidermed birds.
So, the Lab not only does bird stuff! They are also very well known for their Bioacoustics department. My roommate, Annamaria, works on whale vocalizations there. Cornell has the largest collection of animal vocalizations in the world and you can listen to their collection in the sound lab. They also have a media room where you can watch short documentaries. You can see why my first week here was so inspiring. There is so much here. I haven't even mentioned how cool Ithaca is as a place! I've only just begun to explore and as I become more familiar with it, I'll put up a post dedicated to the city.
K. That's good for now. I have more about the facilities but it can be clumped in a later post. This Friday, I'm learning how to skin and stuff a bird specimen. The other pictures I'm leaving out here are of the specimen collection at the Lab. But these can be combined with the pictures I'm planning on taking Friday.
Later skaters!!!
February 25, 04:49 PM
An installation I created for the Summit Series Headquarters in Miami.
As some of you know, my boyfriend, Thayer Walker, has for the last year been a part of a unique team called Summit Series. For the last 3 years, Summit Series has brought the worlds young thought leaders, innovators and movers and shakers together in annual events. The next event will be on an ocean liner leaving Miami to a private island in the Bahamas. It's pretty nuts. For the past month, I've been staying with him in between projects, and I have a hard time not creating something aside from work when I have time. I was inspired to create "Wasted Time - Wasted Heart" with discarded cardboard boxes and reclaimed house paints.
March 05, 05:07 PM
Hi! As promised, here are some pics from my road trip from San Francisco to Miami.
LAS VEGAS
I loved Las Vegas, as surprising as that sounds. I thought it was a ridiculous city, but there were so many fun, extravagant and over the top things to see that it felt like Disneyland for adults. This pink gorilla suit is a perfect example of this. I think my favorite part of Vegas was all the themed hotels/casinos. If those weren't there, I wouldn't have felt the way that I do. As a former decorative painter, I was blown away by the level of faux painting that went into creating these places. Of course these are the pictures that I didn't take because I kept forgetting my camera. Thanks to Hannah, I at least have a picture of me with the pink gorilla man.
ROAD STOP I THINK IN ARIZONA
I LOVE THIS PAINTED SIGN IN TEXAS
New Orleans was most definitely my very favorite city on the trip. Oh my god! I haven't had such a visceral reaction to a place in a very long time. As we drove in, I just gasped at the architecture, narrow cobblestone roads, signs, smells...all of it. Of course the food was one of the best parts. One very memorable lunch was at a place called Bon Ton. We got there right when they opened. We were one of the first customers. Here is a pic of the interior of the restaurant.
And this is how full it got after about 15 minutes. Crazy. We had crab meat au gratin, crawfish jambalaya, crawfish etouffee followed by whiskey bread pudding. This bread pudding was insane. It was made with very densely compressed pieces of french bread drenched in a whiskey sauce. The whiskey was added after the sauce was cooked so it was straight uncooked alcohol. Sooooo goood!
MORE HAND-PAINTED FABULOUSNESS
I feel like this is the kind of thing you would only see in New Orleans.
Why is it that I'm so attracted to old abandoned buildings?
I love these old posts where horses would have been tied back in the day. It's too bad they don't still have the rings in the mouths where the reins would have attached.
While exploring the city, we came across a gallery specializing in all things animals. It was called Animal Art Antiques. Very self explanatory. In there, I saw two incredible 3-D models that had I had the money, would have bought in a second.
This particular cow model was made by a company called SOMSO. They are one of the leading companies in 3-D scientific models. SOMSO is located in Germany and there is a SOMSO Museum in Sonneberg. Sonneberg was never on my list of places to visit, but it certainly is now. Apparently they also have a toy museum and has long been a center for toy making. Who knew?
This beauty is made of paper mache!!! Paper mache, people! Incredible.
Okay. So normally I think these street performers are pretty silly, but I'm not going to lie. I couldn't possibly imagine holding this pose for more than 10 seconds.
February 08, 11:05 PM
Whoa! I can't believe how crazy fast time flies.
I have a lot to catch everyone up on....
So, I finished my internship in Panama on January 4th. In an effort to fit 2 months of time lapsed into a nutshell, I'll curate this post down to the bare minimum.
Out of all the work I've done at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, I'm somehow attached to this painting I did of a greenbanded goby (top) and a red-cheeked goby (bottom) for fish expert, Dr. Ross Robertson. It is a comparison of the two very visually similar species. The red-cheeked is a new species discovered in the waters of Honduras. The genetic difference of the two is about 11%. It was just so cool to put the fish side by side. Thus far, a comparison such as this doesn't exist.
Another project that I worked on with Ross is an app for an identification guide. Below is the opening page for this.
Panama was an unforgettable experience. It was mixed with excitement for experiencing something new with the difficulty of being so far from my loved ones. I found all of my projects very fascinating and gratifying. I hope that the very special friendships I made will be lasting. They made all the difference in the world and the Panama I know is largely due to them.
So what now?
I was back in San Francisco for a couple of weeks. My sister just had a baby!!! That makes me a first time aunt. Her name is Lelu Kim Schmidt. I can't tell you how special meeting her for the first time was. I was so happy to paint a piece for her to hang over the crib. Not to worry, it's painted on loose canvas so there is no harm in a heavy painting falling on her. It's 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet. We thought a sea scape would be perfect for her. She now has a space rug, animal curtains and an ocean scene over her crib. :)
Now it's the second week of February and where am I now? I have the month of February to myself before I begin my final internship at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology so I decided to drive from SF to Miami to spend some much needed time with my boyfriend who is currently here for work. I took a fun road trip with my friend Hannah Berman. For those of you who don't know her, Hannah is an amazingly talented designer. She specializes in letter pressed cards and her line is sold all over the country in various stores. It was great because the route we took was unfamiliar territory. I had never been to any of our major destination points--Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans, Tallahassee along with a very special place in Florida called Cassadaga. We've affectionately named it "Psychic Town." It is a tiny town with a population of about 100. Of those 100, 40 of them are psychics. In the center of town, is a bookstore. In this incensed and crystal filled bookstore is a large white board with many names and phone numbers. As you look at the board, a name should stand out. This is the psychic that you should call in order to get the best reading. I can't actually even remember who my guy was, but what an experience. I didn't come away from it feeling worse or better about things, so I suppose that's the best I could hope for. I did end up with a puffy paint Rorschach butterfly used to analyze my person through chakra colors. That was fun.
Hannah also visited me in Panama. Below are some pics from the visit and the road trip. All of these pictures were taken by Hannah.
One of the common themes of her photos was painted signage. I'm glad that it was documented. That was one of my favorite things in Panama--hand painted signs, murals on buildings and custom painted buses.
Okay....I lied. I'll be attaching pics from the road trip in a separate post. I was looking through them and there are too many that I want to tell you about. I'll try not to let 2 months pass before these go up!
I have a lot to catch everyone up on....
So, I finished my internship in Panama on January 4th. In an effort to fit 2 months of time lapsed into a nutshell, I'll curate this post down to the bare minimum.
Out of all the work I've done at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, I'm somehow attached to this painting I did of a greenbanded goby (top) and a red-cheeked goby (bottom) for fish expert, Dr. Ross Robertson. It is a comparison of the two very visually similar species. The red-cheeked is a new species discovered in the waters of Honduras. The genetic difference of the two is about 11%. It was just so cool to put the fish side by side. Thus far, a comparison such as this doesn't exist.
Another project that I worked on with Ross is an app for an identification guide. Below is the opening page for this.
Panama was an unforgettable experience. It was mixed with excitement for experiencing something new with the difficulty of being so far from my loved ones. I found all of my projects very fascinating and gratifying. I hope that the very special friendships I made will be lasting. They made all the difference in the world and the Panama I know is largely due to them.
So what now?
I was back in San Francisco for a couple of weeks. My sister just had a baby!!! That makes me a first time aunt. Her name is Lelu Kim Schmidt. I can't tell you how special meeting her for the first time was. I was so happy to paint a piece for her to hang over the crib. Not to worry, it's painted on loose canvas so there is no harm in a heavy painting falling on her. It's 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet. We thought a sea scape would be perfect for her. She now has a space rug, animal curtains and an ocean scene over her crib. :)
Now it's the second week of February and where am I now? I have the month of February to myself before I begin my final internship at Cornell's Lab of Ornithology so I decided to drive from SF to Miami to spend some much needed time with my boyfriend who is currently here for work. I took a fun road trip with my friend Hannah Berman. For those of you who don't know her, Hannah is an amazingly talented designer. She specializes in letter pressed cards and her line is sold all over the country in various stores. It was great because the route we took was unfamiliar territory. I had never been to any of our major destination points--Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Albuquerque, Austin, New Orleans, Tallahassee along with a very special place in Florida called Cassadaga. We've affectionately named it "Psychic Town." It is a tiny town with a population of about 100. Of those 100, 40 of them are psychics. In the center of town, is a bookstore. In this incensed and crystal filled bookstore is a large white board with many names and phone numbers. As you look at the board, a name should stand out. This is the psychic that you should call in order to get the best reading. I can't actually even remember who my guy was, but what an experience. I didn't come away from it feeling worse or better about things, so I suppose that's the best I could hope for. I did end up with a puffy paint Rorschach butterfly used to analyze my person through chakra colors. That was fun.
Hannah also visited me in Panama. Below are some pics from the visit and the road trip. All of these pictures were taken by Hannah.
One of the common themes of her photos was painted signage. I'm glad that it was documented. That was one of my favorite things in Panama--hand painted signs, murals on buildings and custom painted buses.
Okay....I lied. I'll be attaching pics from the road trip in a separate post. I was looking through them and there are too many that I want to tell you about. I'll try not to let 2 months pass before these go up!
December 16, 01:38 PM
Last week, I finished up my project with Alexandra Hiller. Alex studies porcellanidae crabs. They are soooo cute and tiny--about the size of large peas. The above photos are actually direct scans of these teeny tiny creatures. What an awesome way to capture these guys in detail. She studies everything about them from their behavior to genetics. They are actually not true crabs and their morphology is a unique blend of all different crustaceans making them a super crustacean in my opinion. :)
Alex, along with her colleagues, have put together a program called CAT - computer assisted taxonomy. With this program, you can identify your specimen based on defining characteristics. My job was to re-create the ways the different characters are visualized. She had already done it, but wanted something more clear and aesthetically pleasing. Attached are a select few to show the new one and the old one. The new rendering is on the top and the old is on the bottom.
Alex, along with her colleagues, have put together a program called CAT - computer assisted taxonomy. With this program, you can identify your specimen based on defining characteristics. My job was to re-create the ways the different characters are visualized. She had already done it, but wanted something more clear and aesthetically pleasing. Attached are a select few to show the new one and the old one. The new rendering is on the top and the old is on the bottom.
December 14, 01:38 PM
I was just turned on to this site and it is one of the funniest and true interpretations of typical Panamanian culture.
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
December 11, 04:29 PM
Bocas del Toro is a small island on the Caribbean side of Panama near the border of Costa Rica. It's known for surfing, snorkeling and diving. The Smithsonian has a station there and I went on a short weekend visit last month. Juan had to be there to teach a group of environmental and biology undergraduates that had been traveling throughout Panama for 3 1/2 months. They each spent time with a homestay family and traveled from location to location, working with a scientist for 10 days at each location. Their last stop was Bocas del Toro and Juan was the scientist. He taught them about the marine life there. It was a lot of fun sitting in on the lectures and joining the group on some adventures.
The easiest and fastest way to get there is by plane. Lucky for me, I live within a 10 minute walk of the domestic airport in Albrook. There are only two airlines. I flew Air Panama. :)
The easiest and fastest way to get there is by plane. Lucky for me, I live within a 10 minute walk of the domestic airport in Albrook. There are only two airlines. I flew Air Panama. :)
VIEWS FROM THE PLANE
Below is a nest that I liked.
This is Juan Mate. I love this picture of him in a full suit. The weather was really crummy when we were there. Lots of rain and lots of wind. This made the water much colder than usual (75 degrees F) and I guess when you're accustomed to the warm tropical water, a slight shift in temperature merits protective gear. :) The rest of us were in bathing suits.
The first day that I arrived, I got to go snorkeling with the group. With all the wind and rain, the visibility was poor, but it was just so much fun to get in the water and look around anyway. I wish I had a waterproof camera.
This is a really gross picture, but I find gross things awesome especially when it involves picking and peeling. This is a picture of one of the students helping along the shedding process of skin after a sunburn. :) I love that you can see the holes from the hair follicles in the skin! EEW!
The purpose of snorkeling was to collect samples of coral. 3 buckets were collected and brought back to the lab to dissect. There were so many living things inside!
In addition to the urchins and brittle stars, they also found a pipefish, worms, crabs, large starfish and much more. After they counted and sorted all the specimens, they got tossed back into the water. That made me happy.
The STRI dorms each have about 6 bunk beds. It was pretty empty and I ended up sharing with only one other girl. She ended up also working at Naos and was in Bocas temporarily. Her name is Anabell and I was so thrilled to meet her. Anabell conducts a pretty neat experiment involving tiny itty bitty adult shrimp and shrimp larvae.
First, she looks at the shrimp that's been place on a mesh disc through a microscope. She counts the squares on the mesh to measure the size of the shrimp.
Then using super glue, she attaches a mono filament to the shrimp as well as to the larvae. It is really tedious work and it's amazing to watch how quickly she can do this.
She does this for 12 adults and 12 larvae.
Then we go to the dock with a bunch of other equipment.
The brick weights are set up in equal intervals around the entire dock.
The shrimp and shrimp larvae then get attached to these acrylic rods. Each rod is then placed in the brick weights. They alternate between adult shrimp and shrimp larvae.
Each rod is submerged for 30 minutes. Then they are pulled out to see if the shrimp were eaten or are still on the line. Other factors are then measured...
This is a mesh bag used for collecting plankton. The bag gets pulled through the water along the dock to see how much plankton is in the water.
This white thing is used to measure the depth of the water. Temperature is also recorded. This experiment is conducted every day during low tides. That means that sometimes she is doing this experiment more than once a day and at horrible hours like 3 or 4am. Yikes!
Later that afternoon, we went out to the main city. I loved it! It has a beach town, bustling feel to it. Not to mention, I ate one of my most favorite typical dishes there. It was a hole in the wall restaurant called Don Chi Cho. It's probably the only remaining place in Bocas that serves typical fare for typical prices - cheap. Everything else in Bocas has become pretty expensive because it is now a huge tourist attraction. That whole plate of food below cost me $3.50. Pretty ridiculous.
When you walk in, it doesn't look like they have much. It's kind of like getting food at a cafeteria, but I love that you can just ask for as much or as little as you want on your plate. I ordered a piece of bass, lentils, rice and two different preparations of plantains. One is called patacones and the other tajadas. Patacones are the flat disc things. They flatten, deep fried pieces of unripe plantain. The other are sliced pieces of mature plaintains that have been sauteed. Patacones are savory while the tajadas are sweet. Oi! Both are soooo good. The table had the flag of Panama under the glass. It was a picture perfect opportunity that I'm happy to say, didn't go to waste.
Below are a couple more pictures of the town.
December 06, 09:09 AM
December 01, 09:52 AM
I found this so inspiring. Oliver Uberti is a designer at National Geographic and talks about the magic in creating something with your hands. I loved it!
CLICK HERE.
November 17, 10:22 AM
Recently, I actually had some time to do some work for myself! I definitely took advantage of that and did a couple of graphite drawings. They were both very much inspired by my recent projects.
The water surrounding Coiba National Park is a hotspot for coral reefs. The island, for the most part, has very little human footprint so it is essentially in pristine condition. Juan Mate is a coral expert and I've learned quite a bit from him. I never really understood how coral worked. I knew that it is a living organism, but that was about it. Coral is made up of a huge colony of little polyps. They create a hard skeleton around their vulnerable bodies as protection. Like the sand dollar or urchin, the remaining part that we like to display is the skeleton of the animal. The octopolypus is an invented hybrid of two different coral polyps and an octopus. Although this guy will never exist, there are decorator crabs that will have coral growing on its shell and there is also a type of coral that has eight arms...so why not? I mean, jackolopes are real, right?
The other drawing was inspired by the sustainable fishing guidebook I designed. I sort of have become obsessed with fish eyes. These are all the groupers that can be fished around Coiba National Park. All the eyes are to scale. It's crazy. Some groupers can get as big as 5 feet. Crazy.
Updates
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I was looking through the archives and found this etching from college days. I didn't think I had it anymore, but it was one of my favorite pieces! I recorded the four people in the image having a conversation and recreated their portraits with images of sound waves that the conversation made.4 months ago
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I am really into these drawings by Duane Hosein! Very cool.4 months ago
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Love it!4 months ago
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This is when I wish I was allergic to shrimp.4 months ago
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I think someone wanting your art tattooed on their person is one of the biggest honors!4 months ago
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Vintage science illustration fun!4 months ago
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I want to do that with an elephant. I found this while doing an image search for an Asian elephant @ http://endangerededen.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/remembering-our-fellow-earth-inhabitants-on-world-animal-day-asian-elephant/4 months ago
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Stuffed animal sculptures everywhere, please!4 months ago
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Amazing. Evolution is so cool.4 months ago
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Um, yes!!!4 months ago
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Interesting thoughts on the role(s) of science and art.4 months ago
