This poor guy

For my latest work, I've been looking at a lot of old drawings, paintings and etchings from the 1700s to the early 1900s. Specifically, my searches include natural history documents as well as medical illustrations. I am drawn to their beautiful detail and sense that I am getting a glimpse into society's perspective on these topics.

I also can't help but chuckle at some of the renderings: 

Arrowhead Biennial

I am thrilled to have Specimen hanging at the Duluth Art Institute for the Arrowhead Biennial, a five-state juried exhibition. I have been attempting to get a piece in since we moved to Duluth and am honored to be included this year alongside an impressive group of artists and their work. The juror, Dyani White Hawk has amazing work of her own and I look forward to seeing it in person one day. 

 

Collecting specimens

I am in search of a flat file. One that is used for maps, or better yet, insect specimens, would be perfect. They are quite expensive, even used and so that tells me they are also hard to make. 

In the meantime I am becoming one with my Xacto knife and imagery from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. If you don't know about this resource, there are thousands, even millions of archived illustrations from the 19th and early 20th century publications digitized for our use and enjoyment. They all pre-date 1923, so are exempt from copyright limitations. 

Source: http://biodiversitylibrary.org