Though many a northerner might beg to differ with Robert Frost’s somewhat flippant statement – “You can’t get too much winter in the winter” – there is a truth to the poet’s words that became evident when I looked into winter vocabulary.
Wintry word origins
According to etymologyonline.com, the word winter likely derives from a combination of Proto-Germanic, Norse, Dutch, and Gaul words which meant “wet” or “white.” The word snowdates from circa 1300, shares linguistic roots with winter and was alternatively spelled “snew” until the 1700s. Continue reading “Sketchbook Snapshot: taking a closer look at winter vocabulary”
I’m curating the @IAmSciArt account on Twitter this week. And, a week dedicated to #sciart conversations with the friendly and creative folks of the interwebs strikes me as a fantastic way to kick off 2017.
So far today, we’ve discussed SciArt-related time management and habits, such as scheduling time to regularly sketch or explore a new media like relief printing or painting with Quink. And, since I recommended quick and informal sketching as a good way to maintain a daily sketching habit, I figured I’d sketch my lunch. Continue reading “Sketchbook Snapshot: Lunch Biodiversity”
I’ve been busy working on illustrations for an exhibit of my “Ecologically True Story of the Tortoise and the Hare” project. As a result, I’m in a sketching mood, and I’ve started sending drawings hither and yon.
Last month’s sketching tip focused on making stickers from our drawings, as a way of making reproductions we could certainly share.
But this month, I’m in the mood for sharing with no intermediate process. So, I’m suggesting you sketch on the packages you mail, and illustrate the letters you send (and send a letter!). 🙂
“Too much importance cannot be given to drawing, as it is not only an excellent device for securing close observation, but it is also a rapid method of making valuable notes.”
Inspired by Louis Agassiz, the Harvard Committee of Ten insisted that drawing be an essential part of science education at their institution. While this curricular edict was issued in 1894, it is a learning and research recommendation whose value I rediscover every time I work on the “Ecologically True Story of the Tortoise and the Hare.”
Mid-semester, responsibilities, due dates, and life can feel overwhelming. But, taking breaks and doing “other” activities are essential strategies for fostering your own work and creative thought.
I’ve remarked many times that reading, writing, and drawing are three ways that I manage to ‘suspend’ time. In all three activities, my brain slips into a hyper-focused dimension in which I have no sense of time passing.
And while this brain space can be problematic when I have a finite amount of time for it, allowing ourselves to work and think outside of time is not just pleasurable, it’s really important.
After all, a body of research indicates that arts activities are often key to science breakthroughs.
This month’s newsletter shares a few perspectives on why and how to engage in leisure and arts activities.
Bethann Garramon Merkle, MFA 