• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
SayoStudio

SayoStudio

Seeking: Scientific dreamers in need of a partner to visualize their discoveries & technology.

  • Case Studies
  • Services
    • Animations
    • Illustration
    • Design
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Art Inspiration 2020

November 12, 2020 by Nicolle Fuller Leave a Comment

Finding Creative Inspiration (and Sanity) During our Coronavirus Summer

pelicans beach painting N.R.Fuller
On the Washington coast this summer, we spied a flock of brown pelicans relaxing in the surf. Inspired to create some art, I created this painting from our visit this summer.

Like many across the world, 2020 has been a strange and difficult year. To find art inspiration during our Coronavirus lockdown, I explored my backyard in the Pacific Northwest. I was lucky to stay busy with work, creating science illustrations and animations for Science News, Sky & Telescope, Kezar Biosciences, and many more. During the Covid craziness, I’ve found myself so incredibly fortunate. I’m working, my supportive partner is working, and my children are coping remarkably well with school from home. We are safe, and trying hard to stay healthy.

Yet, I can’t say it hasn’t been a challenge. To fill my reserve of creative juice, this summer I found calm and respite in the wild places of Washington state. With my family, I wandered the beaches along the southwest coast, explored the Cascades, and close to home I tended my garden.

Painting and Nature Finds on the Beaches of Washington

Art Inspiration NrFuller

My family and I traveled to Washington’s Long Beach peninsula to wander the empty beaches. Even in the middle of summer, the temperature stays beach-chilly, and crossing paths with other people is rare… perfect during the Coronavirus pandemic. We played in the waves, flew kites, and found welcome reminders that the world is much larger than us humans.

We watched brown pelicans dive for schools of fish at the edge of the breakers. They occasionally gathered to rest in the surf (painting above). Down the beach, we found the decayed body of a gray whale that had washed up in April. A rare site for us, we looked up information and discovered that there have been hundreds of dead grey whales found on Pacific beaches this past year. NOAA is investigating the whale deaths, trying to understand why the numbers are unusually high.

beached dead whale WA
A grey whale skeleton washed up on Ocean Shores Beach. Sad, fascinating, and inspiring to see.

Mountain Hiking Excursions for Awesome Colors, Patterns, and Art Inspiration

Nicolle hiking for art inspiration

In between our beach adventures, we escaped to the mountains near Seattle. Despite having to wear masks as we passed other hikers, we found solitude, places to splash, and some fun critters.  Exploring the alpine lakes of the Cascade mountains we dipped our toes in mountain streams, and caught little frogs to admire before letting them go.

cascades frog photo
One of the critters we discovered was the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae)

This was the first time we went backpacking post-kids, and I was SO impressed with my 7 and 10 yo. The whining was a minimum, and the memories of playing in meadows will soothe my soul over this isolated winter to come. We camped at Barclay lake, and witnessed an avalanche tumbling off of Baring Mountain. Safe on our side of the lake, we listened to the roar and appreciated the reminder of nature’s awesome power that we don’t see in our everyday lives.

barclay lake at sunset nature colors inspires art

 

Gardening to find Creative Calm and Nature’s Patterns

Tomatillo Painting by Nicolle R Fuller
Tomatillo husks harvested from my garden are the basis of this painting. These sorts of creations from life, although not strictly science illustration, help me hone my compositional skills, and more importantly, take time to appreciate the beauty in this world. By Nicolle R. Fuller

Finally, one of my small, everyday escapes, is into my garden. Maybe it’s my cosmic sign, Taurus, or maybe it harkens back to time spent with my Dad gardening as a child, but playing in the dirt grounds me. When things are overwhelming, I can step outside and spend time tending my vegetables, pulling weeds, and just… being. Sometimes my kids will help me, but mostly it’s time by myself. Time to daydream, and time to process the different ideas spinning in my head. If I’ve had the chance to work with you, you may have heard me say, “Great! I’ll get back to you, I need time for things to percolate.” My gardening time is where that happens. All the different ideas trickling together into a picture of your science.

One of my favorite garden treasures are tomatillos. Growing up Asian American, tomatillos weren’t something I was familiar with until I started gardening. I’ve grown to love the tart flavor in soups and enchiladas, but the reason I really love tomatillos is for their papery thin husks. They float from a vibrant Kermit green to a deep violet, gently hugging the precious contents within. I have a couple favorite vegetables to grow (Ok, a lot), but tomatillos hold a special place. This fall I was able to create a painting of tomatillo husks, and I hope to paint a full series exploring their color and texture.

Thank You For Joining Me on this Art Inspiration Journey!

I so appreciate you taking the time to share this look back at some of the adventures that have inspired my art this past year. I hope that you have found your own ways to escape, cope, and celebrate the beauty around us. I’d love to hear if you appreciate this content, and I SO want to hear about your adventures. Please leave a comment and subscribe to our newsletters!

If you feel inspired and would like to join the science art conversation, please sign up for my newsletters!

Get Inspired!

...with new science art and sci-communication tips. Join the SayoStudio conversation to receive newsletters, special offers and more.

Related posts:

  1. SayoStudio Website Design by Claire Agosti of Indiseño Co.
  2. 2020 SayoStudio Science Art
  3. Small Kids, Small Business, and Holding it All Together
  4. 2013 AOI Science Illustration Awards

Inspiration,  Science Illustration,  Work-Life-Balance art,  coranovirus summer,  creative inspiration,  drawing,  frog,  garden,  hiking,  nature,  Nicolle R. Fuller,  painting,  pelican,  SayoStudio,  science illustration,  tomatillos,  whale skeleton

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Categories

  • Animation (9)
  • Art Process (11)
  • Business (6)
  • ecology (7)
  • health (5)
  • Inspiration (8)
  • nano (5)
  • Science (26)
  • Science Communication FAQ (5)
  • Science Illustration (31)
  • Scientist Feature (15)
  • Work-Life-Balance (6)

Recent Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art
Ready to get started?

We are excited to learn more about your work to help visualize your story.



Footer

Navigation

  • Case Studies
  • Services
    • Animations
    • Illustration
    • Design
  • Our Process
  • About Us
    • FAQs
  • Get In Touch
  • Gallery
  • Blog

RSS Recent Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art

Categories

  • Animation
  • Art Process
  • Business
  • ecology
  • health
  • Inspiration
  • nano
  • Science
  • Science Communication FAQ
  • Science Illustration
  • Scientist Feature
  • Work-Life-Balance

Contact

(703) 594-6755

info@sayostudio.com

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Resources

  • Science Image Pricing & Licensing Rights

Newsletter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Zombie Ant Fungus
  • Science Graphics for Cancer Therapy
  • Best Science Images 2022
  • Cell Science Art
  • Chemical Engineering Journal Art

sayostudioscience

#sciart—microbes 🔬to galaxies 🔭—Nicolle Fuller leads SayoStudio creating art & animation of science wonders. #scienceillustration

SayoStudio
Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter Did you know you can make a free, DIY water filter out of wood?! 

Trees naturally have xylem -- a straw like tubing -- to transport water and nutrients into the tree. The pores inside these xylem tubes are very complex on a nanoscale. Water molecules can flow freely through the tubing, but larger bacterial cells get trapped inside the xylem structures.
Because this filtration system removes rotavirus and E. coli, these filters meet the standards set by @WHO for clean, drinkable water. 

Learn more about nanoscientist Krithika Ramchander and Dr. Rohit Karnik's (@mit_engineering) research and see an animation of the xylem catching bacteria on our blog: https://sayostudio.com/science-diy-water-filter-animation

Art and animation created by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio
.
.
.
#waterfilter #diywaterfilter #xylemwaterfilter #treefilter #tree #xylem #mit #engineeringweek #engineering #mitengineering #nanoscience #scicomm #sciart #scienceillustration #scientificillustration #sayostudio #animation
Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is Is #ScienceFriday a thing on social media..? It is? Then allow us to introduce you to the basics of #StringTheory! â €
â €
String theory is a Theory of Everything (Grand Unification Theory) that seeks to unite the gravitational force with the other fundamental forces (electromagnetism and nuclear forces) that are already described by quantum mechanics at the atomic level. â €
â €
Gaining a foothold in the theoretical physics community during the 1970's, string theory states that fundamental particles such as quarks + electrons are not points of energy or matter, but result instead from the vibrations of one-dimensional ‘string-like’ entities on a far smaller scale. ⠀
â €
Although string theory is highly debated and very complex, it poses very interesting solutions to why our observed universe acts the way it does. â €
What's your take on string theory? â €
â €
Artwork by Nicolle R Fuller, SayoStudio â €
. â €
. â €
. â €
#stringtheory #granreunificationtheory #theoryofeverything #physics #quantummechanics #nuclear #multidimensions #dimensions #sciart #scienceillustration #scicomm #electromagnetism #energy #matter â €
â €
â €
â €
Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused Could neurodegenerative diseases really be caused by ancient viral infections? â €
â €
The recent discovery of viral proteins in the brains of MS/ALS patients created a mysterious link between human genes and neurodegenerative disease. â €
â €
Researchers are just now beginning to understand how ancient human endogenous retroviruses (or HERVs) affect our immune responses today. HERV proteins cause disruptions of nuclei in cells; triggering the cells to mount an immune response in the central nervous system. This disruption spreads from cell to cell progressively; and is shown to cause significant motor neuron deterioration. â €
â €
You can read more about this research here: https://loom.ly/_uTOBvc â €
â €
Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @the_scientist_magazine. â €
. â €
. â €
. â €
#msawarenessweek #multiplesclerosis #neurodegenerative #neurodisease #als #ms #medicalillustration #cell #sciart #scicomm #scienceillustration #medart #stem #sayostudio â €
Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might Having your heart flutter on Valentine's Day might seem normal...but for some, it's a common symptom of atrial fibrillation. 💓

Afib is a heart arrhythmia characterized by irregular or fast beating. Electrical signals in the heart dictate how often your heart pumps-- and for some this can get out of whack, causing palpitations and dizziness. 

Luckily  treatment exists to manage Afib. To learn more, visit the American Heart Association or click the link below: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation

Artwork by Nicolle R. Fuller, SayoStudio for @popularmechanics
.
.
.
#AmericanHeartMonth #NationalHeartMonth #Scienceillustration #sciart #hearthealth #americanheartassociation #afib #atrialfibrillation #arrhythmia #valentinesheart #heartart #medicalart #medicalillustration
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 SayoStudio · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Login
  • Sign Up
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.