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I was recently interviewed for the Wyoming EPSCoR program’s blog.

In addition to a number of questions specific to the nature of sketching workshops I teach, Jess White from EPSCoR asked a thought-provoking question about how drawing contributes to my writing. It was a question I’d never consciously considered before, and I was delighted to be compelled to do so.

Little of that aspect of the interview made it into the final article, which is how interviews often go – there’s only room for so much, and no matter how interesting a tangent may be, it may not sync well with the dominant theme of the article.

So, here’s the “how sketching influences my writing” out-take:

Since you’re also a science writer and essayist, can you talk about the connections you see between art/illustration and your writing?

In a pragmatic sense, drawing compels me to look very closely at a given subject – much more closely than I find I do if I merely work to describe that subject in writing. I also have to problem-solve visually, which involves capturing color in a visceral way, drawing and re-drawing a form until I have accurately captured the shape, relationships of parts, sizes, etc. Continue reading What do science writing and sketching have to do with each other? Wyoming EPSCoR asked me…

I’ll be teaching a mini-workshop/crash course/ intro session on Wednesday at the University of Wyoming. We don’t have enough time to get too deep into skill-building (only 1.5 hours), so this session aims to get you excited about the idea of building skills (or resurrecting latent skills).

Teaching with Technology Series: Drawn to Science-Using Analog Technology (Art!) to Teach Science:

3/30/2016 ● 12:00-1:30 pm ● Coe Library 506 ● lunch provided for registered participants

Register here.

Hosted by: Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Wyoming

Continue reading Workshop: Using Analog Technology (Art!) to Teach Science

• Talking animals can confuse children’s understanding of why/how animals do things. (Ganea et al 2014)
• Children don’t differentiate between fact and fiction unless guided to do so. Books presented by adults are viewed as equally authoritative, and fantasy books can lead to children developing faulty explanations for themselves. (Owens 2003; behind a paywall – contact author for reprint)

Two weeks ago, I gave a seminar to the University of Wyoming Zoology & Physiology Department.

Entitled Drawn to Science: Exploring the Historical and Contemporary Synergies between Drawing, Creativity, and Science, my talk roved through history, technologies that have influenced art and science, and looked at research and examples of how art and science
can do much more than make data look pretty.

Click here to view the talk! It’s about an hour long, including the Q&A following my presentation.

We were blown away by how many people enthusiastically did so.

Continue reading Could #sketchyourscience be key to increasing appreciation of SciArt among ecologists?

If you missed my recent workshops – and you’re in Laramie, WY – you’re in luck!

I’ll be a guest artist at the Biodiversity Center’s open house Thursday, September 3rd. Come by to learn/practice some basic observational sketching skills you can use anywhere. This is a great activity for “non-artists” and artsy folks alike – really. Trust me.