ScienceOnline People: Tell Me What You Want

I mentioned a few months ago that I would be attending the wonderful ScienceOnline conference that kicks off on January 30^th in North Carolina.  It’s only two weeks away, woo-hoo! 

So now would be a great time for my fellow attendees to take a look at my work and tell me if there’s anything you would like me to bring along so you can see it “IRL”.  I will have all the various designs of silk scarves with me, plus a few one-offs.

If there’s a particular painting or collage in my shop that you would like to buy, please let me know in advance – I can knock off the shipping cost and hand-deliver. (Don’t forget to use code TWEEPS for 10% off) Otherwise, if you have a few you would just like to look at, send me a message via etsy, email or twitter, and I will make sure to bring them.

Also, if there’s anything you would like me to paint for you – your favorite microbe, parasite or cell, or mitosis in your team colors – please let me know this week. I’m fairly un-busy right now, and I would love to sell some art to offset the cost of the conference. And wouldn’t you love a one-of-a-kind memento of this great event? Please note: there’s always a chance that buying me drinks will reduce the price of a painting. Tell your friends. 

Oh yeah, and come to the session I'm co-moderating with Cedar Riener on visual metaphors at the intersection of science, language and art, Thursday at 4. 

I Lost a Bet

If you know much about me, you know that I am a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan. My family lived in Pittsburgh for years, and I went to high school there. Plus, it's very easy and pleasant to be a Steeler fan most of the time. They almost always make the playoffs, and they've won the Super Bowl more often than any other team. They are also fortunate to be in the same division as the Cleveland Browns, whose level of success has been somewhat - ahem -  lower over the years, to the endless delight of Steeler fans.

I should just come out and say it. I found out one of my twitter buddies, Scott Huler (@Huler), was a Browns fan, and I rashly bet on the outcome of a game and lost. Oh, the humiliation! Never mind that the Steelers lacked their best players on both offense and defense that day, they should really be able to beat the Browns while wearing flipflops in a driving rainstorm. And they didn't. They lost. And so did I.

So I was forced to produce a Cleveland Browns-themed painting for Scott. I actually painted two. My kid came in while I was painting and asked incredulously, "Why are you painting in the BROWNS' colors?" Indeed, Paul Brown, whatever possessed you to pick orange, brown and white?

Never mind that. I am a woman of honor, and I keep my promises. Here they are Scott - take your pick of "Mitosis in (Cleveland) Browns" or "I <3 the Cleveland Browns". I'll cheer for Denver in the playoffs if you will. But I will not be betting on the outcome.

Wired Beauty

I was chatting on twitter with a few friends today about buzzwords we hate: paradigms, synergy, gamification and so on. Afterward, I somehow got stuck in my brain the beginning of a lovely poem, Pied Beauty, by Gerard Manley Hopkins, which begins, "Glory be to God for dappled things" and celebrates the beauty in imperfection. With apologies to Hopkins, I update the poem for 2012.

Wired Beauty

 

GLORY be to God for disruptive tech— 

  For apps of couple-colour as a branded cow;    

    For data gleaned from chips upon trout that swim;     

For viral video of finches’ wings;              

Paradigms plotted and pieced—push, pivot and plug;            

    And all trades, their transactions well tracked.               

All things counter, original, spare, strange;          

  Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)              

    With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;    

All those things whose beauty is past change:           

                  Upgrade them.              

You should really read the original. 

Petri Dishes Today, Holiday Market Tomorrow

I just listed my last dozen petri dish ornaments online, and now I'm getting ready to sell my work for 5 days at DC's Downtown Holiday Market. It's right in front of The National Portrait Gallery and is definitely worth a visit, particularly between December 7-11, when I'll be there! (The market continues until December 23 - vendors rotate)

I'll have lots of new work, both science-y and not, but if you're looking for a particular item, please let me know so I'll be sure to bring it along. Can't bring my whole inventory - too much stuff for one 10 x 10 tent. One thing I will have is a few one-of-a-kind scarves that are not on my website.

Hope to see lots of you DC folks there. I usually ask people to bring me coffee because it's so cold standing outside from 12-8 in December, but this year I think I'll be just fine, with temperatures predicted in the 50s and even 60s. But I certainly won't turn down a coffee if you bring me one!

Holiday Hints

December is creeping up on us, and holiday shopping season is in full swing. I hope that some of you will be wanting to buy some of my work as gifts - to yourself or others. So, just a couple of words about my schedule.

Apart from the scarves, I'm making everything by hand, and I've been struggling a bit to keep up with demand for petri dish ornaments. I will continue to make them this week and next, but from December 7th to the 11th I will be at the Downtown Holiday Market all day, and thus unable to make any more. And since they take at least three days start to finish, we're really talking about December 15th, at which point it may be a bit late. So - to avoid disappointment, please order ornaments by December 5!

If you're in the DC area, please do come visit me at the Downtown Holiday Market from Friday the 7th to Tuesday the 11th. (The market continues most of the month, but those are the only days that I will be there - the vendors rotate.) And please, if you are planning to come and you want something specific, please ask in advance (via email, twitter or etsy) because I can't bring all my stuff with me every day. I would hate for you to come out and be disappointed.

Anyway, I hope this doesn't sound bossy or pushy - I love you all and I thank you soooo much for your business. But alas, I can't send Teapot the kitty to the Post Office for me. And we already know how helpful he is with the resin.

The Fat Cat Sat...in the Resin

Yesterday, my petri dish ornaments were featured on BoingBoing and Neatorama, so I suddenly had lots of sales – yay! So I had to hustle and get everything I had into my etsy shop. I also decided to make a small batch of new ornaments with the last of my resin.

The resin I’m using takes a full 24 hours to dry, so I poured it yesterday afternoon and left it overnight to dry on my work table.

In the night my cat, Teapot, started acting strangely, racing around frantically from room to room. I ignored him and tried to get back to sleep. About 5 am, I gave up and got up. I discovered a petri dish full of resin quite far from where I had left it the night before. Its surface, still sticky, was covered with odd marks. Then, when I fed teapot, I noticed that the fur on his butt was standing up in stiff tufts as if he had used hair gel. I put two and two together. The fat cat had sat in the resin.

He spent much of the next hour trying to lick it off.  I’m still not sure whether I’ll have to give him a haircut. Tune in next week for more adventures of crafty cat.

Previously.... Teapot helps with painting.

Ornaments Have Arrived!

The first bunch of petri dish ornaments are in the shop now. Each one is individually hand-painted, resin-coated and gift-boxed.  I wish I could make them a little cheaper, but the resin really added to the cost. To ease the pain, I've fixed the shipping so that, no matter how many ornaments you buy, they all ship for the price of one. 

More are in progress, but I made sure the first lot included kitty microbes, swine and bird flu viruses and lots of other microbial goodness.