Go Ahead and Do It

Go Ahead And Do It show at Art.Science.Gallery (photo: M. Weinstock)

For those of us, myself included, who weren't able to be in Austin for the Opening of Go Ahead and Do It: Portraits of Women in STEM at Art.Science.Gallery, our guest curator and science journalist Maia Weinstock shared some of her photos of the art installation.

Go Ahead And Do It show at Art.Science.Gallery (photo: M. Weinstock)

Go Ahead And Do It show at Art.Science.Gallery (photo: M. Weinstock)

Go Ahead And Do It show at Art.Science.Gallery (photo: M. Weinstock)

If you are in Austin, do be sure to check out the show and let me know!

Go Ahead and Do It

 

If you are in the Austin, TX area be sure to visit Art.Science.Gallery! I am really excited to take part in their show of portraits of women in science, technology, engineering, and math, which begins this weekend. It's called Go Ahead and Do It and I wish I could be there to see it. If you are able to go, let me know and then tell me all about it!

"The pioneers portrayed in this collection offer an encouraging look at what women can achieve in the STEM fields despite persistent obstacles. “If it’s a good idea,” computer scientist and U.S. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper once quipped, “go ahead and do it.” A portion of the proceeds from this exhibition benefit GirlStart, a non-profit that provides opportunities for girls to become involved in STEM fields."

Opening Reception Saturday September 13, 2014 7-10pm
Images of Women in Science Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon Monday October 13, 2014 6-9pm
Ada Lovelace Day Party Tuesday October 14 6-9pm featuring a brief talk by guest curator Maia Weinstock at 6:30pm

Go Ahead and Do It

'Florence Nightingale', 2nd ed., 12" x 12" on Japanese kozo paper with chine collé, by Ele Willoughby, 2014

I made a second edition of my portrait of Florence Nightingale. I wanted a simpler, darker colour scheme and to print it on larger sheets to allow more negative space around her. I'm gathering up and framing my female scientists you see, for 'Go Ahead and Do It: Portraits of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics', a group exhibit at Art.Science.Gallery in Austin, September 13 through October 14! This is the perfect exhibit topic for me and I'm pretty excited about it. I only wish I could be there. If you're in Austin, there's an Opening September 13, and a party on October 14th, which will be Ada Lovelace Day. The show is curated by science writer and photographer Maia Weinstock, who will be hosting a Wikipedia edit-a-thon for images of women in STEM on October 13, as well as gallery owner, scientist and artist Hayley Gillespie. Maia, Hayley and about 10 other artists will also be showing their scientist portraits in all sorts of media. The title of the show is a quotation from computing pioneer Grace Hopper, whom I've yet to portray, but who is on the to do list.

Speaking of going ahead and doing it, I'm also preparing for the Hunt & Gather pop-up market at Huntclub gallery in Little Italy, August 22nd to 24th, and the In the Round show at Graven Feather on Queen West this November. Not to mention the big one: I'll be doing the One of a Kind Show from December 2 to 7th! I have a 5 foot by 10 foot booth, which we have to design and build as well as all the preparations of things to sell. But, before that, there's Etsy:Made in Canada Toronto Edition at MaRS, which I'm organizing with my trusty TESTy & 416Hustler leaders, and where I'll also be selling. Cause nothing says "taking a year off for mat leave" like organizing a show for 120 vendors after a successful 30-vendor show, doing 4 art shows in two countries, 3 pop-ups,  giving a couple of invited public lectures, running a small art business, creating art, writing, blogging, and teaching on-line. Basically, I'm almost as busy as I was previously, but now with less sleep and greater likelihood that I have a baby-related stain somewhere on my person. <sup>1


1</sup> When the baby was first born we watched all of Kingdom on Netflicks, cause other than baby care and attempting to feed ourselves, watching a gentle English TV series was about all we could muster. Basically it's Stephen Fry as tiny market-town solicitor being charming, and assorted English character actors trying to upstage him. Phyllida Law succeeds. Anyhow, there's one season with a baby where I heard the best approach to these issues. Young articling solicitor tells his boss Kingdom (Fry) that he has baby-sick on his suit. Fry's response? "Yes."

Logos, the cosmos in art, & the history of science from print to textile form

This is a peak at the linocut which formed the basis for a logo I designed for a small English furniture company called Galapagos Designs. The specialize in German furniture from the 50's. My lovely customer stumbled upon my portrait of "Darwin on Galapagos" and liked the look of the tortoise. She requested a similar tortoise with a specific German chair, within a circle. The final logo has some further work I did with their name and slogan, in Photoshop. I can share that when their website is complete. I've enjoyed working with her and making this print. I like the whimsical idea!













The Etsy blog posted a great little article last Friday, called Art Scouting: The Night Sky. If you know me at all or have perused this blog more than once, you'll know that an article about the place where art intersects astronomy and a round up of representations, both representational and fanciful, of astronomical phenomena is just my thing. So, I was really pleased to see my "Imaginary Antarctic" screenprint included, especially amongst the works of so many wonderful printmakers. The author even sent me nice little note saying she thought it was a gorgeous depiction of the aurora.



















This is my linocut portrait of Mercator, famed 16th century Flemish cartographer and originator of the ubiquitous Mercator projection (the last of which just flew to Chicago with a friend... though I think I'll print a 2nd edition). You may recall, I was really pleased to be invited to submit of of these prints to the City Museum of Sint-Niklaas, in Belgium, who were hosting a year long exhibit in 2012, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Mercator's birth. Recently, they wrote to me to say they would be sending me a knitted version of my print. Nothing could be less expected. It arrived today.






 









This is without a doubt, the single most unusual item I have received in exchange for my art. I don't know what to do with it, but I love it. (That's a metre stick for scale, by the way).

Happy Birthday Copernicus

I read recently in the Globe and Mail that Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, so I would like to wish him a happy birthday. He looks good for 539, no?

In case you were wondering:
This is an original 2 colour linoleum block print showing Copernicus and his model of the celestial spheres, or as we would say, the solar system. Copernicus is shown in green with a lily of the valley, the standard Renaissance symbol to indicate a medical doctor, since like most proto-scientists, or 'philosophers' (doctors of philosophy) he learned his astronomy incidentally, since astrology was considered a vital diagnostic tool for medicine. His planetary model is shown as he conceived it in gold. Using the ancient Greek and Roman symbols, the heliocentric solar system has the following planets: Mercury (the fleet-footed messenger with his serpents and staff, the caduceus), Venus (goddess of beauty - the mirror, like an ankh), Earth (4 cardinal directions), Mars (spear and shield), Jupiter (thunderbolt) and Saturn (the scythe of Time). The outer planets had yet to be discovered. Beyond Saturn, he envisioned the sphere of the "fixed stars".

Copernicus' great work, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri sex" (or "Six Books on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), commonly known as "De Revolutionibus" (or "On the Revolutions") was finally approved for publication as he lay on his death bed. Was this due to perfectionism, fears, or religious belief and the concerns that displacing the Earth from the centre of the universe might conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible - perhaps we will never know. But we do know that as a consequence of the publication of this provocative volume, the Western world experienced what is now known as the Copernican Revolution. This is a landmark in the history of science and culture.

Marley & Meat*

This is a portrait of my "nephew", my brother's (the OB's) black Labrador Retriever, Marley. No relation to any other labs by the same name - this Marley was named after Bob. In this hand-carved lino block print, he's dreaming that the prime rib steak my brother bought is actually for him. Basically, this is inspired by the OB's Facebook page, which seems to consist of photos of large portions of red meat labeled 'dinner for 1', and photos of his dog looking cute. I have to think that Marley may envy my brother-the-carnivore's diet.

The portrait is printed in black and burgundy ink on Japanese kozo (or mulberry paper) with chine collé (added coloured paper) brown eyes. Each sheet is 9 inches wide and 14 inches tall (22.9 cm by 35.6 cm). There are 12 prints in the edition.



Marley is a sweet dog, so long as you aren't trying to rush out of the house, in which case he might chew the cord of the hair dryer or sabotage your attire, or unless you want to leave the park, in which case, he no longer knows you. I understand that all labs like to swim, but I believe that Marley is actually a seal disguised as a dog. He loves his people very much.

p.s. Happy Boxing Day!

*RJH made me use that title

Thermochromic Pasteur

I made a second edition of my Louis Pasteur block print. You may recall I made a portrait of Louis Pasteur for a Mad Scientists of Etsy challenge. Though his work was extensive in a variety of fields, I chose to depict him as I see him; a man who saw bacteria in his environment and developed a means of protecting people from this ambient menace. The image is based on a photograph of Pasteur and the background, of course depicts various morphologies of bacteria. I don't know anything in particular really, about bacteria, but morphologies I can understand. Plus, I like his face. You can see his concern in his eyes. And he sticks his glasses in a button-hole in his coat- a interesting touch. Suggests he is thinking about other things. The lino block print is a 2nd edition of nine (some variability in mixed colours) in dark blue and turquoise thermochromic ink on 9 inch by 12 inch (23 cm by 31 cm) Japanese kozo paper.

Thermochromic ink changes colour with temperature. If you heat the print above about 30 C ( 86 F) the turquoise bacteria go white and disappear. It's like a metaphor for pasteurization. Consider these two side by side prints:



Look what happens if I apply heat to either one (with the help of a hair dryer):




The heat makes the bacteria disappear!

I've been thinking about 'smart' materials and using my scientific background to make more interactive, time-varying art. This is my first venture into this area. I've been doing some research about what is out there. There are a lot of interesting inks and textiles, but often they are only really sold on an industrial scale. To make this print, I purchased a small about of thermochromic powder and - after some experimentation - mixed it with block printing medium, or ink extender.

Ernst Haeckel and some of his favorite critters

Ernst Haekel (February 16, 1834 – August 9, 1919), the famed German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist, whose book "Art Forms in Nature" filled with lovely 19th century scientific illustrations of biology has inspired many of my prints. This month the mad scientists of etsy challenge theme is Ernst Haeckel, so here we have the man himself, surrounded by several of the creatures he depicted. Clockwise from the top we have: rugosa, a foraminifer (or foram), a tubularid hydroid, homo sapiens (Ernst Haeckel), a dinoflagellate, and a sea slug or nudibranch.



This is an original lino block print printed in various colours, water-based block printing ink on Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. The first edition is limited to four prints The sheets are 30.5 cm by 30.5 cm (12 inches by 12 inches).



I had to choose a nudibranch because they are so spectacular looking, like a sea cucumber dressed for carnivale. There are some weird looking creatures in the ocean. When tasked with documenting what we see with a submersible ROV, we are often left with little option but to type 'critter' or even more vaguely 'life'. I can't help but recall an animated short I saw at the NFB with , 'Chloe the sea cucumber' which was in fact weirder than any critter I've seen yet.

Haeckel seems to have a Louis Riel thing going on. The print is based on a photo of him, clearly after doing field work, in 1866 (hence the posture, leaning on the table).

Cretaceous Friends

I decided to list my miniature, multi-media portraits of dinosaurs in vintage, circular, Italian frames. The Trans-Canada Etsy Team challenge theme for the month of February is 'odd'. You have to admit, a Renaissance Arsinoitherium would be odd.





Each is about 3.5 inches or 9 cm in diameter. (Thanks to RJH for the photos).

Henrietta Swan Leavitt in the Blogosphere

I'm catching up on one of my favorites, News From the Craft and Style Blogosphere and I just noticed that the September 2nd issue includes my Henrietta Swan Leavitt blockprint. Sweet!