fungus among us

or more like in us if you are an insect or another arthropod.  these Cordyceps are endoparasitoids and make their home inside arthropods.  one particular fungus that invades a caterpillar is being investigated for its anti-inflammatory properties.  also makes a very interesting illustration subject that you can see here. 

"Illustrated Vegetable Wasps and Plant Worms in Colour" (1997)

trees telling a story

most everyone knows you can tell how old a tree is by counting its rings, but those rings can tell you so much more.  the study if the rings is called dendrochronology.  there are several subdisciplines that study everything from ecology to archaeology by studying those rings.  you can do your own sleuthing into the past here.  

image from climatepedia.org

another reason ticks are creepy

i am not creeped out by many things, but ticks gives me the heebee jeebees and now i have another good reason to not snuggle up with them.  not that i eat much meat, but they are icky and can cause many more problems beyond a meat allergy.

i would still draw one.  as long as it was well preserved   

animals make the best muses

engineering inspired by animals only makes sense.   those animals got it right thanks to evolution.  

Image: Justin Jaworski

wish i lived in minnesota

if you live in minnesota, you have an great opportunity to join a free course where you can learn to sketch the birds.  fun!

creation of a workshop - excited about science illustration

thank goodness for the internet.  i recently received an email from michael weierusz who found me on c.o.s.e.e.'s community website.  micheal is the instructor of sed labs.  the goal of the course is to develop sustainable solutions by understanding the earth system and the human footprint.  this year, water is their main focus.  being a sucker for all things water (tide pools, wet lands, ocean, puddles...) i thought this would be an awesome opportunity to teach something i love. 

my brain is storming with ideas.  excited to bring my dissecting microscope and books that inspire me.  

ready to help some kids get excited about science illustration.  

Fucus gardneri - rock weed

check out this article. has a funny title, a slew of illustrations and it's about dinosaurs

it is always a challenge to create an illustration form something that does not exist.  this article has many drawings and models that show a bit on how that process works.  

Untrunked and hypothetical trunked brachiosaurus, produced by Bill Munns. 

convergent evolution is always interesting

neat article about what humans and insects have in common.  

also, some helpful science illustrations.  

if you can access journal articles, here is the original article that inspired scientific american. 

who needs sleep when there are meteor showers to see?

i probably will not be able to see them, but if you don't live in the land of perpetual cloudy skies (seattle, wa), then maybe you can enjoy these leonids between 12 am and 3 am on august 17th.  

Photograph by Tony Hallas, Science Faction/Corbis

crowd sourcing for bird identification. neat!

for all you tech savvy bird watchers, check out what cornell is doing and lend them a hand.  science! 

all those segments and legs

this guy could either be really fun to draw or drive you mad.  

a, Live female I. plenipes with 662 legs (captured by Rob Marek). b,c, Scanning electron micrographs of male I. plenipes: b, mid-section, dorsal aspect of segments (note dense setation and micro-sculpturation of intersegmental cuticle); c, mid-section, ventral aspect of segments showing paired appendages on each diplo-segment. d, Close-up view of ozopore, the opening to the repugnatorial gland, and surface structure of cuticular projection on posterior margin of segment. e, Male copulatory device (gonopods), which are modified legs (ninth and tenth pair); left anterior is shaded blue; right posterior is in yellow. Scale bars: a, 10 mm; b, c, 400 m; d, 50 m; e, 200 m.

science that makes you feel good.

this was an amazing episode of nature.  

not just people want friends.     

hike the huyck!

back in fall of 2010, i had an exciting opportunity to become an artist in residence at the huyck preserve. the preserve is located in the charming small town of rensselaerville outside albany, new york.

the preserve's residency program, called COMmunity.ENvironment.ART Natural History Artist-in-Residency, has clear goals for their artists.  they request that the artist-in-residence create a piece of work that gives back to the community, educates the public about science and environment, and expects an artist to immerse themselves into their science and natural history. 

during my stay i was able to dive into their research, gather inspiration from the forest, and had the luxury of spending my time creating illustrations based on science.  my work focused on researching and illustrating the ecology between the northern red oak and local weevils.  The piece I created will be used by the preserve in educational materials with the hopes that it inspires the public to take a closer look at their local environment.

being a young science illustrator, opportunities like this residency, are a great way to meet scientist, get exposure to the public, and gather unique experience that can be used to inspire creative illustrations.  i am excited when I discover opportunities similar to the one at the huyck.  it is experiences like this which will help me become an even more successful science illustrator.