Site moved!
I’ve officially moved my blog and website to: www.michellereinke.com
I’ll continue to post new work, techniques, in-progress shots, articles of interest, etc at the new site, but no more updates here.
New look, new philosophy
The summer semester is over, and we’re digging into the fall. I’m changing the focus of this blog – instead of covering news and other inspirational biologically related art, the posts will primarily be portfolio and personal artwork updates — after all, the career I’m diving into is about making art, not writing and reporting about it.
Nevertheles, I love looking into what other artists and designers are doing – constantly feeding yourself imagery helps a lot in fueling your own creative tank- , and through my Twitter account (michelle_reinke) I’ll be sharing all the noteworthy artists, work, and scientific news I come across. Feel free to add me!
Below is the latest portfolio update – a work from this summer on cerebrospinal fluid and it’s associated anatomy and histology. Shown is the brain, ventricles, cisterns and areas of flow around the brain, and closeups of choroid plexus and arachnoid granulations.
David Mascaro talk at Sacred Heart Cultural Center
It’s not often there’s word of a talk by a medical illustrator –
However, THIS Monday June 29 at 10am, David Mascaro will be at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center (Augusta, GA), discussing his work and life. I’m told coffee will be included. This will be a great opportunity to get insight from a highly talented artist with decades of experience.
Etcetera: discussions, improvisation, gravity defying sculpture
The NIH Biological Visualization Interest Group is worth looking into if you work in the medical arts field. Its purpose is to facilitate communication between those working in the biological (and especially molecular) visualization fields — there are monthly meetings 5:30 every 1st Monday of the month in the NIH library, and a list serv that’s free to join.
Here’s an interesting Seed magazine article on improvisation, spontaneous creativity, and the brain. Several musicians were asked to improvise while their brains were scanned. There were a couple interesting findings, one of which is that they found right before the musicians began playing, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) had a decreased output — i.e., inhibiting inhibitions is important in improvising.
Tom Shannon is a sculptor whose work may fall into more the scientific than biological visualization field, but nevertheless his work is fascinating. Conceptually, the sculptures are based on astronomical proportions, like the distance between the sun, moon, and earth. Technically, he uses magnets extensively, and because of this his work often seems gravity defying. His website is above, and there’s a Ted presentation below!
Etcetera: Psychological art, ArtPrize contest
Cornell University’s Department of Psychology sponsored a visual competition! The winner is William Chen, and his piece is a vibrant series of self portraits with his hypothetical thought processes strewn across it. It certainly gets the eye’s attention – more about the work and the contest here.
More on the artistic side and less scientific, Grand Rapids will be hosting ArtPrize, a rather unique art contest (winning prize: 250K) that will be judged by the public via the web and mobile devices. It’s open to any medium and any artist 18 years or older, and will be happening Sept 23 to Oct. 10. Some original press details here, and the official website here.
Etcetera: technology, jewelry
Human Atlas: Of interest is a new iPod app – Human Atlas by Blausen Medical. Just as described it offers viewing of a variety of systems of the human body, in a range of depths, and from the images online, it certainly looks well rendered. There’s also an atlas for viewing online (who would really want to study from a tiny iPod screen?) that you can register to get access to.
Nervous System: On a slightly less scholarly note, there’s some great jewelry online being developed by MIT students with backgrounds in mathematics, biology, and architecture. Their work mimics naturalistic iterative processes (the end results named Dendrite, Radiolaria, Coral Series, and the like), and there’s an invitation for user interaction:
- “We create our designs through an iterative and expermental process. After brainstorming an initial concept we write a pattern generating algorithm in the computer through which we further explore our ideas and ultimately create the finished product. You can use the applets we share here to create your own one of a kind jewelry designs or just to play and learn.”
The result is playful and unique jewelry reminicscent of the biological.
Jon Engle – threatened by Stockart of stealing his own work
Here’s a story which is being spread around online and followed via Twitter already very well:
Jon Engle, successful designer of 11 years is ensnared in a large bill over copyright enfringement and probable legal battle over his own work. Stockart sent Engle an 18,000$ bill, claiming that work displayed on his own personal site was taken from some of their own stock art. Engle believes someone must have edited his work and tossed it toward the online Stockart site, and should have the evidence to back it up. But the stock art company isn’t backing down, and now is letting his clients know of this fiasco – threatening many of his business relationships. Any artist can at least sympathize with this nightmare.
The funny thing is, according to an online discussion (link below), this company has tried this once before and failed. And fortunately, Engle is getting a lot of positive support right now – I’m betting he comes out on top.
More details in the links below:
Etcetera: exhibition, talk
A couple things happening in New York of late:
A talk is happening at the Observatory 7:30pm in Brooklyn by medical illustrator Marie Dauenheimer, titled “Italian Wax Anatomical Models in European Collections”. Sounds like just the kind of thing anyone weird enough to appreciate the art and dissections would appreciate! More information over at the Morbid Anatomy site. Also see the post about the Italian tour; some of its photos put current anatomy models to shame.
Also of interest: the Pelham Art Center in Pelham, NY is hosting “And for all this, nature is never spent”. Including a collection of work by both students and professionals, it’s goal is to increase public awareness of the state of the environment. As a perk, it looks tastefully done, includes some truly lovely works, and isn’t all about shoving a message down your throat.
Here’s the the larger context the title is taken from:
“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; Bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”
–Gerard Manley Hopkins
[via New York Times article]