Kris Kirkeby’s visit on Thursday was very fun and insightful – she gave a presentation on her work, and the details of being a scientific illustrator. Scientific illustration requires a strong scientific background, and advanced artistic skill – someone in this profession must be able to portray scientific objects in an accurate and visually appealing sense, within a very specific timeframe.

After Kris’ presentation and introduction to her portfolio, she gave us a short drawing lesson. We began by drawing objects that we could not see – we each had an object inside of a drawstring bag, which we were only allowed to observe based on how the object felt. After observing the object through touch, we attempted to sketch the object with as much accuracy as possible. The purpose of this exercise was to explore how lack of certain sensory information can greatly affect our visual portrayal of an object or idea.

This exercise was followed by a step-by-step lesson on how to accurately draw a butterfly. Once Kris had given a butterfly to each student, we began the drawings by sketching the basic shapes of the wings. Then, we rounded out the angular shapes, filled in details, and added color through a specific layering technique – layers of the lightest undertones, followed by brighter/darker, more dominant colors. While we didn’t have enough time to finish our drawings, we began the long process of creating scientific illustrations.

While the actual drawing lesson had very little application to my own final project (other than creating a very precise blueprint for my sculpture), the principles of perception and awareness are extremely relevant to my creative process. My creative display relies heavily on the concept of perception, and uses mirrors to symbolize peoples’ perceptions of their surroundings. The mirrors, cut and arranged in a Fibonacci spiral, appear different at every angle at which they are observed – part of this is due to personal awareness, while part is attributed to individual perception. In my sculpture, the mirrors symbolize perception, while the light emitted from the central light bulb symbolizes awareness. Collectively, the goal is to use these concepts and symbols to highlight the Fibonacci spiral that appears throughout the natural world, and to draw attention and concern to the dwindling health of the environment. In this way, the ideas that Kris Kirkeby addressed play a very important conceptual role in my final project.

“To look is to perceive; to see is to interpret and understand.” – Kris Kirkeby