Central Park

The weather was unusually pretty on Friday, so instead of locking myself up inside a building, I took a leisurely stroll in the Central Park.  I made a big mistake of not taking my maps, so all I found was a pond and the Strawberry fields.  

Next time I need to be more prepared.  :)

Hey look!  Who would have thought that I would be here now!

The cats appreciate the view of the city too...in their own ways

There was a man laying down flowers for the Imagine memorial.  How nice.  I need to contribute something to this memorial too.  The lighting was kind of not good, so the right half seems overexposed.  ha.  Will come back here too.  

New York!

So my adventures in NY starts.  RDU has a direct flight to JFK.  I was wondering why the ticket was relatively cheap.  The plane was a smallish commuter plane... I can't imagine commuting from North Carolina to New York, but the flight was actually shorter than what my commute will be, so who knows.  

I was pretty excited to see my suitcase getting aboard the plane at the same time I was.  That's always refreshing!

The plane leaves earlier than schedule AND the flight is shorter than schedule.  Wow that never happens either!

I was planning to knit my charity hat for an organization, but I didn't get as far as I would have...Knitting in the plane is a wonderful way to pass time.

I got to meet a very nice medical illustrator, Laura, and her husband Chad.  They also had a nice cat, and I was really happy I got to meet them all.  

The next morning...here it is, the moment I've been waiting for!  My "home" for the next 10 weeks!  The American Museum of Natural History!

Wow it's really big!  and the inside is filled with tributes to Theodore Roosevelt.  Interesting.  I didn't look in the museum too much, since I was expecting a meeting there.  

But I did look around the main atrium.  People told me there would be elephants, but there were dinosaurs.  Oh well.  They are cool too.  

...and the murals highlighted TR's accomplishments as President.  I especially liked this one, since it reminded me of Mucha's paintings.  

...I officially start here on Tuesday!  I was told to bring myself, and an open mind!  :)

Opthomological Illustration

This piece had been completed for a while, but has not made its way to the website yet.  I need to update my website!  :)

The plate shows the main step for the scleral buckle procedure in order to correct a retinal tear.  Instead of going into the interior of the eye, the problem is fixed from the exterior of the eyeball.  

This piece was rendered in traditional transparent watercolor and finished in Photoshop.  

Cicada shells!

Couple of weeks ago, I went exploring in Wyman Park near JHU Homewood campus for some cicada nymph shells.  

I had pretty good luck; about 20 minutes of meandering around near the big trees yielded 4 nymph shells.  Most of them had all their legs.  

They all seem to be the same species -- dog-day cicada or Tibicen canicularis.  

 

Tomorrow I'll go look for some adult specimen.  

Here's a really neat link to pictures of cicadas, their identification and habitat!

I am an Insect

A wonderful puppet production titled "I am an Insect" had showings in UNC campus in Chapel Hill.  The production was performed by a group named Paperhand Puppet Intervention.   The theatre was a very nice amphitheatre near the botanical garden on campus.  I really liked the atmosphere. 

The production included giant puppets created from found objects.  There were actors on giant stilts.  It was really neat!  The final section, which was my favorite, was composed entirely of shadow puppets.  Here are some snippets:

If you are interested in entomology and puppets, I definitely recommend it!  They did a really good job of recreating complex insect anatomy!  

Sutrea Beetle

This piece is new!  I completed this illustration with the Smithsonian Institute!  As soon as I update my website, this piece will be in my website.  Until then, it will live here. 

New York City

I have been invited to work in American Museum of Natural History from October to December of this year in New York City!  

The project I will be working on with Frank, the illustrator there, will be restoration of fossilized turtle skull specimen.  Neat!  

New York is the ultimate big city for me.  I thought Washington DC was a big city, but now I am familiar with the mall area by working at the Smithsonian Institution and working for the Orphan Works Opposition Headquarters.  I know that is a small section of the big town, but I feel confortable in DC now.  

Who knows what sort of adventure awaits!  Yaaaay!

2008 Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Annual Exhibit

The opening reception for Annual Exhibit for Guild of Natural Science Illustrators was held in Hartell Gallery at Cornell University on July 21,2008. The gallery was beautiful and we had a wonderful time.

My chameleon piece was displayed in the digital illustration section of the exhibit.

Award of Excellence in AMI salon

My surgical illustration plate titled "Submuscular ulnar nerve transposition" received an award of excellence from the Association of Medical Illustrators! The pen and ink illustration describes the main steps to correct a compressed ulnar nerve.

My work featured in the Washington Post

On May 30, 2008, the Washington Post has featured the IC-14 Show in DC near the National Portrait Gallery. In the article, the writer mentions my flounder piece! Here is the link (in a new window)

My illustration is not in the article, but you can always access it by clicking here.

I feel oddly famous!

Intern Position

I will be working with J. Marie Metz, a scientific illustrator at the Smithsonian, to illustrate beetles for Dr. Alexander Konstantinov at the Smithsonian department of Entomology! This will be considered as an intern position. Neat!

Graduate Exhibit Reception

Thank you so much to all who came! The opening of the show was a big success. It is very unreal that we are done and graduating next Thursday. I thank everyone who has been so gracious with their time, energy, and talent during the past two years. Thank you for making all this possible. Thank you!

here is a snippet of the festivities for those who missed out!

Johns Hopkins Thesis Presentation

Four of us in the Class of 2008 will be presenting our theses tomorrow at 1:00 at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. We will be showcasing our independent research and illustrations to solve a visual problem.

Hope to see everyone there!

On the Wall

Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia is hosting its 14th Juried Exhibition on May 8, 2008 at Pepco's Edison Place Gallery in Washington, DC.

My flounder piece as well as works by Jennifer Fairman, Zina Deretsky, and Marie Dauenheimer are going to be showcased in the show. Very exciting! I will post the lovely poster announcing the opening of the show as soon as I find a digital version!

I received a Certificate of Excellence in the Technical/Scientific/Medical Illustration Category!

See you at the Reception!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
6:00-8:30PM

Pepco's Edison Place Gallery
702 8th Street NW
Washington, DC

Between G and H Streets, one block west of the Verizon Center.
The gallery is open to the public from noon to 4pm Tuesday-Friday.

Thesis Presentation--University of Toronto

-April 18, 2008-

My fellow classmate Fabian de Kok-Mercado and I have presented our theses at the Medical Illustration Student Exchange held at University of Toronto.

We shared our independent research and newly created illustrations to communicate new discoveries.

Thesis Titles:

Ikumi Kayama
"Visualizing the Dynamic Cellular Response to Injury in the Regenerating Liver"


Photo by Fabian de Kok-Mercado ©2008



Fabian de Kok-Mercado
"Is the arterial morphology of owls adapted for extreme neck rotations? A Study of the Neurovascular Anatomy of Owls in Relation to Neck Kinematics"


Photo by Jared Travnicek ©2008

The second year students from Medical College of Georgia and University of Toronto also gave their presentations. They all did a great job!