Hello all,
Welcome to D term! My name is Allie, I am a senior studying chemical engineering, and I am excited to be making art this term! Previously, I have worked with mostly sketching, some Photoshop, and have made a few sculptures. The style of art I am most familiar with pen sketching; I like to freehand a sketch with only a rough idea of what I am drawing, and let the drawing evolve on the paper as I sketch it.
I also have some Photoshopping experience:
I am particularly proud of of a big metal pterodactyl sculpture that I created a while back. This took a very long time to make (I had to weld metal parts together to make it, which needed supervision). I almost stopped halfway through because I needed to find access to a welder- but I am very glad I didn’t and the sculpture now hangs in front of one of my windows.
I am taking this light art practicum to mix it up a bit- I am also an undergraduate researcher in Professor Young’s lab. He works with several strains of luminescent yeast, and has allowed me to use them to create living, glowing art.
I have always drawn heavily on organic forms when I create artwork. My pet birds and fish often lend themselves as inspiration, along with reptiles and dragons from mythology books I read as a child. Since I became a researcher, I also became fascinated with the growth forms that microbes assume. Often, when you look under a microscope you feel like you are looking at art. I would like to convey the sense that the barriers between biotechnology and art are only perceived.
In addition, I like to layer my drawings, so that you have to look a few times to see everything (i.e. the eye of a bird is also the eye of another bird, the beak of one may be the tail of another, etc.). I am looking forward to the challenge of applying these concepts with glowing yeast.
I am excited to see what we all come up with. Let’s make art!