SCWIST Networking Evening – Guest Speaker

The Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology held their monthly pub night networking event on July 21, and I was the guest speaker. In a private room upstairs at the Big Rock Brewery, about a dozen women in science gathered to have a beer or two and listen to me give about a 40-minute presentation on what I do for a living, and what science illustration is in general, including a break for questions and discussion. I think it went pretty well! Before and after, we had some time for general networking.

Thanks to Meighan and a few others for live-tweeting me that evening! In this pic above we were laughing because someone commented that one of the perks of a good illustration is sometimes they smell better than the real thing. In this case, rotting sea stars are very very smelly. Illustrators smell them so you don’t have to!

2015 Illustrating Nature Exhibit – Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History

 Student works from the Science Illustration Program
California State University Monterey Bay

Poster Art by Daisy Chung

I have four pieces in this show, running May 2 – June 14, 2015 at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. The instructors of our program, Ann Caudle, Jenny Keller, Amadeo Bachar, and Lucy Conklin were our curators for the show, and they selected pieces that worked together cohesively to express the interests and skills of the class. My classmates and I worked very hard not only to make the artwork itself, but also mount, mat, and frame the work ourselves.

Emily Carr/ Klee Wyck 1871-1945 ©Jen Burgess

Emily Carr/ Klee Wyck 1871-1945

Mountain Lion ©Jen Burgess

Mountain Lion

Ghost Horse with English Snaffle Bridle

Ghost Horse with English Snaffle Bridle

Intertidal Invertebrates ©Jen Burgess

Intertidal Invertebrates

Coastside Land Trust — California Wildlife Art Show

I am thrilled that the Coastside Land Trust accepted my Leatherback Turtle and Sea Nettle painting into their art show featuring California wildlife. Did you know that the endangered Leatherback Turtle is actually California’s official State Marine Reptile?

 

Flyer for California Wildlife Art Show

Flyer for California Wildlife Art Show

 

Leatherback Turtle and Sea Nettle ©Jen Burgess

Leatherback Turtle and Sea Nettle

 

Jen Burgess with her Leatherback Turtle and Sea Nettle painting

Jen Burgess with her Leatherback Turtle and Sea Nettle painting

I had the unique opportunity while I was volunteering for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center, in Santa Cruz California, to get up close and personal with a fibreglass cast of a real leatherback turtle. It was a rare chance to sketch the face of a prehistoric (& still extant, if endangered) creature up close, especially now that the cast is mounted high up on the wall. I made this watercolour piece as one of my portfolio submissions to apply to the Science Illustration Program at California State University, Monterey Bay.