The interesting part of this assignment for Vegetarian Times was that I was able to omit the subject of the article from the image completely. The article deals with the collection and usage of water with the help of rain barrels. The Art Director had only two requirements in the assignment brief: that a figure be included, and that the image be a positive take on the subject in some way.

After struggling with some initial ideas that included rain barrels, I decided to pursue a concept that eliminated the nebulous looking cylinders. By doing this I was able to avoid making the image into a diagram, à la high school science class, and instead was able to give a sense of what the article was about in a much more fun and positive way.

The funnest part about this project was finding reference and getting it to look 70’s. I was at my parents house when I got the assignment, and immediately thought of the old photographs my dad had taken in the 70’s when he was trying his hand at fashion photography. I found some winners in a pile of dusty boxes and used these lovely ladies as inspiration and reference. I painted the image on wood panel, and used lots and lots of gold glazes to get a nice hazy look.

I couldn’t have asked for a more fun assignment!

This was my second assignment with the Howard Hughes Medical Institution. The article is about how physical models are preferred tools for students exploring protein structures. The models are engaging and make it easier for students to understand the functions and theories behind the structures.

This is not so much a tribute as it is a commentary on one of my favorite authors, JD Salinger, who passed away last week after more than 50 years of self imposed seclusion. Despite his ‘disappearance’ and the banning of his novel, The Catcher In the Rye, in many American high schools, his slim body of published work continues to be cherished by readers everywhere.

I finally got around to seeing MOON

  a few days ago. And it was amazing.

Now I love all things Sci-Fi, and I have a grand standing tradition of crushing on sentient soothingly-voiced robots/cyborgs/androids. And while I really loved Gerty and his coddling ways, this time around I feel that Sam Rockwell really stole the show ( I realize I just admitted to preferring actors pretending to be robots to any other kind of actor). So here is to you Sam Rockwell.