Color! Texture! Movement! Using Repurposed Materials!
Category: science
Science and art collaborations are becoming popular. Each field wants to think and see in a new and different way to further their skills.
About the Quilt Artist
My art quilts are all about the quilt artist creating abstract, whimsical or impressionistic pieces. Inspiration comes from the natural world as well as from Mexican and Native American influences. My materials of choice are often redirected fabrics from the San Francisco Design Center and found objects. Art quilts free me to play with color and texture. My technique, Scribble Quilting allows me to create movement on many of my pieces.
TWO INSPIRATIONAL ARTISTS
I owe some of my inspiration to two artists from Santa Cruz County, California. Meri Vahl, an award winning art quilter has been recognized nationally for her work. Teacher of the fabric layering technique, she was patient. Understanding that each student brought individual strengths, weaknesses and abilities. Ellen edith;friend, art quilter, fabric designer and artist extraordinaire made whimsical, personal quilts. Her influence lives on well beyond her life. I have great appreciation for these two local leaders of the art quilt world.
SAQA (STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATES)
I am proud to be part of an evergrowing group of art quilters. SAQA started by Yvonne Porcella in Northern California in 1989. It has grown to an international organization. Art quilters have transformed the quilt into a 21st Century art form. I continue to explore new forms and ways of working with unusual materials on this journey.
ABOUT THE ARTIST,BIO
I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. In high school I studied sewing and clothing construction for two years. I continued to sew much of my wardrobe. In 1974,I took my first quilting class at a neighborhood fabric store. Over the years, I continued to sew clothes and make quilts for my family. I stopped counting bed quilts at 300. After teaching 30 years in Watsonville as a bilingual teacher, I retired to spend more time on creating art quilts.
MY FIRST ART QUILT
Homage to a Dancer,45″ x 56″
In 2008, I made my first art quilt, Homage to a Dancer. It reflects my participation in Los Méxicas,the University of California,Santa Cruz ballet folklórico group.
A STUDIO IN THE ART CENTER
In May of 2016, I opened a studio in the Santa Cruz Art Center, 1001 Center St. Downtown Santa Cruz. I have space to work and display my work. For First Fridays and Open Studios, I fill the lobby with art. In June, 2019 New York Art Center accepted my work into their gallery. 7 Franklin Place, TRIBECA, New York City.
AWARD WINNING ARTIST
Great Blue Heron at Dusk,31″ x 25″
Great Blue Heron at Dusk entered into an art show in 2010. The following year it won a merit award at the Olive Hyde Art Gallery in Fremont,California.
In 2013, Visions of New Mexico won third place in the Neo Membreno Vessels 2013 Show at the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City, New Mexico.
Sea Dragons Exhibit at Aquarium,Birch Aquarium,San Diego.
TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT 2019 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. By Julie Watson
All things considered Seadragons & Seahorses, Birch Aquarium’s new permanent exhibition that brings seadragon conservation to the forefront. Above all,the exhibition is home to Weedy Seadragons and several species of seahorses and pipefish.
For the first time ever, Birch Aquarium has successful bred Weedy Seadragons behind the scenes of this exhibit. In short,only a handful of aquariums around the world have bred these unusual fish. The babies are not on display, but you can learn more about their exciting birth on our Seadragon Breeding Program page.
Birch Aquarium,Scripps San Diego,CA
Why Seadragons and Seahorses?
The husbandry of seadragons is increasingly vital due to the impacts of climate change, warming oceans, and illegal collection of wild populations, whose numbers are still widely unknown.
Birch Aquarium has been successfully rearing seahorses in captivity for nearly 25 years. Similarly, that makes us a leader in the field. Furthermore,we hope this new exhibit will result in our first successful seadragon breeding.
Weedy Seadragons
Surprisingly,these seahorse cousins use their bright coloration and seaweed-like appendages to hide among the kelp-covered rocky reefs of temperate southern Australian waters.
Sea Dragons in the Golden KelpSwimming With Sea Dragons
Monterey Bay Aquarium
From the first time I saw sea dragons at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I was fascinated. Was it a plant? Was it an animal? Seadragons and sea horses are surprisingly cousins. Unfortunately, for the interested public the Monterey Bay Aquarium exhibit is no longer. The sea dragons returned to the wild as the Aquarium often does.
I have created several art quilts inspired by the sea dragons. However, nothing is quite like seeing the real animal. That is why I was so excited to hear of this new exhibit and the excitement that it is generating.
Brad Burkhart, clay artist participated in the Collaboration between Art and Physics. He is a lover of Physics as well as clay scultpure.Brad recommended that I read Art and Physics a book by Leonard Shlain. It truly opened my eyes to the science of art.
Brad Burkhart shares his process-clay and physics
Since finishing my sketches for the project, I have been turning them into clay relief form. Due to time issues,not all sketches could become sculptures for the group show on March 1. My goal was to finish 4 of the 6.Notwithstanding this goal was daunting. Each of the clay pieces require over a month of slow drying before firing. By necessity, I sped up the drying process. I used an electric heater in the studio. Moreover, I devised an open lath support under the sculptures to allow them to dry faster. Finally, I found local potters,Steve and Bonny Barisof. They agreed to do this firing for me.
The process-
Below are a few photos of the transformation from sketch to sculpture.
Firing is always an unpredictable process. This one was no exception. The three top pieces came out beautifully. However, apparently I had not dried the bottom one enough. Unfortunately, it fell apart in the kiln.
But the disintegration of piece #4 led to some new insights. My wife and I discussed the broken piece. We decided to mount the main pieces on a board. A quote on Chaos Theory is its show title. After that, we named the other pieces in a similar way. As a result, using physicist quotes or theories added to the exhibit.. I invited Hendrik to participate. In the end we went with my wife’s suggestions for the show. In other words,her suggestions were easier to understand by average viewers. However, I present them both below because they are both insightful. I am still deciding on final names for the pieces. Although I have definitely embraced Hendrik’s name for #3.
Hendrik’s Suggestions:1.) Superconductivity by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, John Robert Schrieffer2.) What is it? Fermi-Dirac or Bose-Einstein3.) Einstein, Soccer and Gravitation Waves4.) Parity or no Parity, Noether, not Hamlet will answer this question.
Wife Ann’s Suggestions:1) “Things” Can Be Regarded on One Level as Structures and on AnotherLevel as Processes —-T. R. Young
2) By Making Everything as Small as Possible the Waves Become MuchMore Agile and Faster —-H. Ohldag
3) Are You the Observer or the Observed?
4) The Final Outcome…Is Radically Affected by Tiny Changes in theInitial Conditions —-S. Morgan
Complexity theory also denies the concept of the objectivity, or separation of the observer from the observed (Young 11).
4) Steev Morgan: Applying Chaos Theory to Artistic and Cultural Practice
Continuing Work at Hendrik’s New Lab
In addition to preparing sculptures for the show, I have continued to interact with Hendrik at his new lab. I am awaiting his comments about having my piece “What’s Your Sign?” in his new lab at the Berkeley Cyclotron. He is just getting started there.
In the meantime, we discovered that the research conducted at SLAC resulted in a significant breakthrough in understanding the speed of magnetic waves. Previously it had been thought that 1 mile per hour was the limit. But they discovered through the experiment that if materials were made small enough, this speed could increase up to 500 miles per hour. This is particularly significant because computer memories use magnetic storage. With the right design, it now appears possible to significantly increase storage. Moreover,while lowering energy use significantly.
Naming a Piece at the New Lab
I try to name my works through a group consensus process. We have been attempting such a process at Hendrik’s new Berkeley Lab location. We hung an unnamed piece in the researchers’ lounge with a suggestion box nearby. See the piece below with set of suggestions. Feel free to participate in the process by e-mailing Hendrik or myself your suggestions. I envision sorting these out along with names for the show pieces later this spring.
Likewise,the artists involved also used different art forms. For example,some work with paint, glass,fiber,and multimedia. Most importantly,Tauna Coulson, the curator worked hard to make sure everything comes together.
Furthermore,I would like to share the inspirations that I created for this upcoming show. Benjamin Lehmann is a theoritical physicist. Likewise,the collider event displays that he showed me on his computer looked eerily like fiber,my chosen medium. After that I made several art quilts based on those photos. In the same vein,subatomic particles are smashed together in the atom smasher at Stanford Linear Accelerator or CERN in Switzerland.https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2018/06/from-guarding-chalk-to-black-holes/ Finally,when this happens, they split apart in predictable patterns and predictable colors. Moreove these were my inspirations.
Ann Baldwin May was born and raised in Palo Alto, California. She received her education from University of California, Irvine (History, BA Elementary Teaching Credential, Masters in Teaching, Spanish).She took two years of sewing in high school. Her first quilting class was in 1975. She retired in 2012 after working 30 years as a bilingual teacher and Bilingual Resource Teacher in Watsonville,California. Her home is in Santa Cruz,California with her husband. She has two daughters. Above all, she loves to play with fabrics and redirected materials to create her art quilts.
Inspiration and the Wonder of the Collider Event Display
Inspiration and the Collider Event Display on a Tuesday 7/3/18
Ben, the physicist studies collider event displays. I, the art quilter looks for inspiration. We had our second meeting at my studio in the Santa Cruz Art Center, 1001 Center St. Downtown Santa Cruz. My studio is 243 square feet small but I have 3 walls to show my work on.
Fabric Layering Technique
I had a fabric layering piece in progress on my table. Then I explained the technique to Ben. First, I lay a piece of backing fabric on the table. I cover it with batting, the soft material inside of a quilt. Finally, I cover the piece with tulle netting and free motion quilt the three layers together. I like using this technique for making underwater fantasies and landscape quilts. I had previously made an interactive activity with precut fish and kelp for visitors to create an underwater scene. Since Ben had expressed an interest in creating some art as well, I thought that this would be a good introduction to the materials. It’s hard to create art on demand so Ben took it home to play with.
My inspiration comes from Fabmo
My inspiration comes from the materials and how they play together. Many of the materials I use come from FABMO(Fabric and more) http://fabmo.org/fabmo/Home.html. It is an all volunteer nonprofit based in Mountain View. It turns out that Ben lives nearby and jogs on the same street regularly. Each week FABMO volunteers visit the San Francisco Design Center. They collect materials; fabric samples, decorative details, wall paper sample, tiles, that would otherwise end up in the landfill. These materials available to the public for a donation. They even come to Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz about 5 times a year. I have been volunteering there for about 9 years. I am very passionate about sharing the work FABMO does as well as using their unique materials.
How do I Solve Problems?
Ben asked about limitations that I might have in my work. How do I solve problems? I find it necessary at times to stop when working on a piece.Then I return later to look at the work with “fresh eyes”. What else can be done to make it better? Are the colors and textures balanced? I had to admit that I do not stress too much about choices I make while making my art.
Let’s take a break.
Time for . . .
Fun Facts for Nonscientists
A cell is made up of molecules. A molecule is made up of atoms. An atom is made up of sub-atomic particles. Sub-atomic particles are made up of electrons and nucleons. A nucleon has protons and neutrons in it. A quark is smaller than that.
THE MYSTERY OF THE COLLIDER EVENT DISPLAY
At our first meeting, Ben, the collaborator had shown me photos of some collider event displays. Incredibly, they looked like fibers. He hoped that they might prove to be an inspiration. Some threadlike lines created a circle and crossed at the diameter. As far as art, they struck me as fairly uninspiring. However, after hearing the science behind it, they became much more interesting. Do not confuse a collider event display with a cardboard event display from a sales convention.
Path of One Particle
For example,each line represents the trajectory or path of one particle after a crash like event. The scientists break apart the particles to study them. The fallout from the crash like events can be predicted. The lines represent what it would look like after many collider events. When someone understands what they are really looking at, it becomes more interesting. Eureka! I created a truly inspired fiber piece with different threads, thicknesses, and colors. Above all, the scientific explanation solved the mystery of the uninspired photo.https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2019/02/fusion-of-art-and-physics-ii/
Links between art and science are growing fast. This happens to what end? It can take many forms. It could be a formal collaboration between artists and scientists. Maybe a call for artists in residence at scientific institutions will take place. It could happen as a gallery showing of research images as art. Something is in the air. Some of this work is truly brilliant. Some is genuinely good. While other works may be well intentioned, some may well be detrimental to both art and science.
What Exactly is the Point?
So, what exactly is the point of this art and science movement? Here I present what I view to be the most compelling reasons for collaborations between artists and scientists. Most of us who are involved in this area see collaborations between artists and scientists as a good thing. What exactly do we hope for from this brave new world? In addition, I include my vision for where I hope things might go.
Exciting Art
Science and scientific ideas have long inspired art and artists, from Leonardo DaVinci and Picasso, to Turner and Kandinsky. In harnessing the scientific zeitgeist of their times to the making of their art, they showed how scientific ideas can inspire great art. So in some sense, this is nothing new: science is simply part of a larger cultural discourse with which art can engage. However, more recently the ways in which artists are engaging with science are deepening.
Transience 1, 2013 Susan Aldworth
New Media and Methods
Science offers a range of new media and methods for artistic exploration. Who ever said that the tools of the artist were limited to the paintbrush, pencil, or chisel? Susan Aldworth’s most recent exploration of human consciousness involves not only brain images, but also brain tissue. This was not done cavalierly: it was done with utmost care and in partnership with the Parkinson’s Brain Bank at Hammersmith Hospital. But, by using the tools of neuroscience as part of her pallet of media, Aldworth is able to provide an insight into ourselves that science itself cannot manage.
Greater Engagement with Science by Artists
A precondition of this greater engagement with science is that artists themselves be literate in science. Well known for their reading of philosophers such as Proust, Foucault and Deleuze, should art students not read Stephen Hawking and Charles Darwin as well? I am not saying they need to become scientists themselves or ditch the philosophy (quite the opposite). Rather, by immersing themselves in the ideas of science, artists expose themselves to the big questions of life from a different perspective and add new and exciting set of media to the toolbox with which they are able to explore these ‘big questions’.
Better Science
In collaborations between artists and scientists the payoff for the artists may seem the more obvious: a piece of art. So, does science benefit? Or is this simply something for scientists who are also passionate about art or public engagement?I would probably argue that both are correct in different circumstances.
Communicating with a non-specialist
The most obvious benefit to a scientist may well be be better communication skills resulting from prolonged engagement with a non-specialist. This should not be sniffed at: speaking at the British Science Association’s annual Science Communication conference, Brian Cox noted that many scientists are so used to playing to their peers as an audience, they tend to still do so when speaking to non-specialists. Rather we should speak at the level of which our audience is capable and prolonged engagement with non-specialists can help in this respect.
Better Science will Come
However, there is some evidence to suggest that engagement between scientists and artists may even result in better science. At the recent State of Matter symposium, Ariane Koek, who leads the Collide@CERN programme, reported that the scientists involved in the programme find that artists often ask questions they would never think to ask. Sometimes this is because they are very basic questions, but it is also comes from a different way of thinking.
The Potential Detours
Chemist James Gimzewski began collaborating with artist as he was looking for fresh ideas, pushing out reductionist thinking, and interested in being exposed to a different way of questioning. Rather than taking the direct way to solving a problem, artists may pay more attention to the potential detours that scientists are often trained to ignore. Botanist Stephen Tonsor, who has collaborated with Natalie Settles, notes that an artist in residence explores areas that are related to the area of scientific practice, but do not get readily addressed by the scientific method. The artist thinks and acts upon ideas in ways that challenge and permeate their engagement with the world, enriching their scientific process.
Serendipity in Scientific Discovery
Often unacknowledged and impossible to manufacture, serendipity plays an enormous role in scientific discovery. While there is no guarantee that the collaboration between an artist and scientist will lead to that ‘Eureka!’ moment, at least some scientists hope this sort of engagement may help them to approach their science in a slightly different way. Although the pay-offs may be less immediate than the production of an individual piece of art, they are potentially more enduring.
A Vision for the Future
While recognizing the degree of specialization required in both practices, I also hope that the art and science movement goes some way to addressing the way that we identify ourselves as ‘artists’ or ‘scientists’. Many of us begrudge our secondary education. We had to pick one field or the other. The study of music belongs alongside the study of chemistry. Scientists can collaborate with both artists and designers. Being literate in both art and science could become a critical element of being an educated person. Once again as it was in the Rennaisance.
Mutual Benefits of Art and Science
I don’t claim any of this will be easy. Along the way, some fairly bad art will undoubtedly emerge, as will scientists and artists who find themselves jaded by the whole experience. In most cases, some shared common practices are needed for the collaboration to truly be successful. But with all manner of collaborations bubbling away, with art and science programmes in higher education, and with increasing recognition of the mutual benefits of art and science, the future is bright.
What else would you hope for from art and science?
Above all,human spaceflight inspires humans to create art in many forms.In addition,watch the video of a collection of fiber art quilts entitled Fly Me To The Moon. In addition,the show has been touring the country since late 2016. Moreover, many more stops are planned for the schedule. Subsequently,a group of those art quilts honored space travel was displayed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in 2015. So this is in honor of the recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. After that,the show’s curator, Susanne Jones comments on the artistic elements of some of the pieces. Ultimately,she notes the educational value of the exhibit to a nation inspired by space exploration.
Blue Collider Event Display art quilt in Stitching, CA
The ‘Space for Art’ column recognizes the inspiration from the interaction between space and art. This inspiration presents itself in many artistic forms. For example,creative artists present the story of space exploration.
Quilting adds a New Level
The world of quilting adds surprise and a new level to recent discoveries. Another whole world of fine art that I was completely unaware of. However, thrilled I am to have now discovered it. The space-themed quilts in particular hold much interest.
Finally,these are quilts created and sewn by fiber artists. In addition to fabric and thread, they also incorporate many forms of mixed media.This adds texture and dimension. Read the complete article here.
