Anatomy Is Now My Life :)

I realize it has been a while since I last posted.  Life has been crazy.  Two and a half weeks ago I started anatomy and I have been going no stop ever since.  I have been reading and diagramming up a storm.  Here are a few of my charts summing up arterial, venous and nervous connections in the thorax.  At this point I have these charts pretty well memorized, and I have been creating similar diagrams for the abdomen.

Thorax Arterial Flow

Thorax Venous Flow

Thorax Nerves

Anatomy lecture consists of a combination of learning anatomical structures along with an explanation of the developmental processes involved in creating those structures.  We also have lab time where we dissect the cadavers so that we can visualize the structures.  It is extremely interesting and there are tons of things about it that I would love to write about, I just have no time. :P

On a random side not, I did finish the angel project that I was working on over winter break, I just never got around to posting it.

Back to reading. :)

Skel-art-ons

This is one of the coolest feats in textile creation that I have ever seen.  Yes, an anatomically correct knitted human skeleton!  First of all, WOW.  The detail of the skeleton is incredible.  I am impressed with the amount of knitting as well as the accuracy of the skeleton.  I have no idea how to knit, but I can crochet and thinking about the size and number of stitches that went into the skeleton project is overwhelming.  On top of that, the design and construction of each element, from the long bones to the skull to each individual tarsal, carpal and phalanx is very accurate, especially given that the medium use is yarn. 

It really is astounding.  I have a strong desire to create a similar project in crochet.  I realize it would be insane and that I don't really have the necessary free time to devote to such an endeavor, but maybe I can make separate bones over time and eventually form a skeleton.  It could be fun to create patterns for all the skeletal elements of the body. 

Skull embedded in wall (Capela dos Ossos)

After discovering a skeleton formed completely from yarn, I decided to look for other artists who created pieces inspired by the human skeleton.  Here are a couple that I was impressed with.

I like this piece by Monaux because the skull is embedded in the outline for the design.  It reminds me of the optical illusion designs like "All is Vanity" by C. Allan Gilbert (pictured below).

"All is Vanity"

While it is extremely unlikely that I would ever decide to get a tattoo, I have to admit that this invisible UV skeleton arm tattoo would be glorious.

I am also impressed with this sculpy model of a human skeleton.  The skeleton is beautiful and anatomically correct.  The musculature is also very detailed and looks correct, although I don't know as much about soft tissues.  Maybe after gross anatomy next semester I will be able to better appreciate the entire model.  I can't wait.  :)

Stencils, Spray paint, and the Challenges of Large Sticky Surfaces

So far I have only transformed one of my designs into a spray paint stencil.  But it actually isn't too difficult.

First you have to choose a design and decide how large you want the stencil to be.  Since I only had access to a regular printer I designed my stencil to be divided into printer paper size sections (8."5x11").  This way I could enlarge the image, print it on multiple pages, and then tape all the pages together for the final stencil.  For this stencil I divided the image into six panels, then I taped them together along the seems.  I then covered the entire stencil with clear contact paper to make the stencil stronger so that it wouldn't rip when it was painted.  The total size of this stencil came out to be 17"x33".

When making the stencil, you need to consider how many different colors you want to use.  For each color you will need to cut a different stencil layer, except for the background which can be sprayed on as a solid coat over the entire canvas.  For this particular stencil, I cut two stencil layers, one for the white and one for the black.  To cut out the stencils I used an exacto knife to get clean edges and remove complex shapes.  For the white stencil, I cut out the basic outline of the entire girl.  So it was just a silhouette without any of the internal detail.  For the black stencil, I cut out all the black areas but left the white areas uncut.  One thing that you must take into account when creating the initial stencil is that you cannot have any white areas that are completely surrounded by black areas, otherwise the entire area will be cut out and be painted black when you spray the stencil.

Print of black layer only

Another thing you should be aware of when buying spray paint is that you must be over 18.  While I am old enough to legally buy spray paint, every time I get more I end up getting carded.  I tried both Krylon and Rustolium paint, and so far I like the Rustolium spray paint a lot better.  The Krylon paint is extremely watery and has a much greater tendency to run everywhere.  This might be due to my poor spray painting technique, but I have had better luck with the Rustolium.  These are both fairly cheap spray paint brands, but they are nice because they can be found at a local hardware store or Walmart.  I am new to spray painting, so I have not yet looked into better quality paints.

To create the final piece I first sprayed the entire canvas with red paint.  I tried to do this evenly, not holding the spray paint too close to the canvas, but it was tricky since I was spray painting outside and the wind would catch the paint if I was too far away from the canvas (this was a problem because my housemate warned me that if I accidentally got paint on his house I would be in trouble :P).

Also, be sure to lay down paper or plastic under the canvas because grass and little bits of debris can become stuck to the wet spray paint.  Once you paint the canvas bring it inside immediately so that it can dry.  Although the paint dried fairly quickly on the brown paper, it dries much slower on the canvas.  For my first print I attempted to spray the three stencils leaving only ten minutes drying time.  This did not work out very well and I ended up pulling up some of the previously sprayed areas when I tried to remove the stencil.  For my second attempt I let the paint dry for about a day in between layers and I didn't have problem with the stencils sticking or damaging the previously painted layers.

Since the canvas is 24"x36" the stencil did not cover the entire canvas.  The problem with this is that the overspray would get on any uncovered area.  Spray paint goes EVERYWHERE!!!  To fix this be sure to cover all area of canvas that you do not when colored. 

One thing that I like about the spray painted version of my designs is that they never come out exactly the same.  For example, the stencils don't line up exactly the same or I over spray too much black or white in different areas creating a unique look even though I'm using the same stencil.  Although I do like the clean lines and boarders generated in photoshop, there is something nice about the imperfections as well.

Malachim: Macabre and Majestic Messengers

With Christmas fast approaching I have been seeing holiday angels everywhere.  Now don't get me wrong, those angels are great, but it got me thinking about the insufficient representation of angels of death or even warrior angels.  Anyway, I decided to design a few angels of my own.

The first angel is more of a grim reaper.  She is carrying a large scythe and there is a human skull lying in the darkness ahead of her.  The second angel is a bit less macabre, even though she is also depicted without color.  Her hand is cupping a rose blossom, but the petals are still being blown away by the wind.

I created these designs in photoshop and I think they would make a cool stencils.  Sure, it would be a pain in the neck to cut out, but it would be awesome as a full size mural.  I would need to modify some parts of the designs so that I don't have any white areas completely encased in black, otherwise the entire piece would be removed when I cut out the black part.  I would also have to make them quite large since the designs are complex, and if they are too small it would be very difficult to cut out the detail in the wings and folds of the dresses.  Furthermore, when I started spray painting it all the little tiny points would curl up, and it would be impossible to get them to sit flat against the canvas.

That begin said, I would love to see them together in a mural of sorts.  Though looking at the combined design I think possibly there should be a third panel.

Also, while I was working on the project my sister started playing the song "We are Young" by Fun constantly, and I have had it stuck in my head throughout the angel making process.  Now whenever I look at the designs, the song starts playing in my head.

The angels never arrived

But I can hear the choir
So will someone come and carry me home

Tonight
We are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter
Than the sun

Ties That Bind

There would I find a settled rest,
while others go and come;
no more a stranger or a guest,
but like a child at home.

-Psalm 23, para. Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Is it strange  that someone with almost no religious training has several biblical passages memorized?  Maybe not, since many of the old songs and musical arrangements that we learned in chamber choir were based on religious texts or ideas. This particular excerpt is from the end of an arrangement that we sang my senior year of high school.  While I don't recall most of the song, this part of the piece always stuck out as memorable.  Rather than any sort of divine, otherworldly experience, heaven is expressed in warmth and comfort of coming home.  The sense of truly belonging somewhere, seen through the innocent, unjaded eyes of a child.  As depictions of heaven go, this is definitely one of my favorites.

Even though I am a "grown up" now, I still love the thought of going home and being surrounded by my family.  I miss my parents and siblings and I am excited to be flying home for the holidays.  Most places you visit, you usually the need to be on your best behavior, to be entertaining and engaging.  But home is a place where you can just be.  Family sees you at your best and your worst and they still love you.  You don't always agree on things or even like each other, but the bonds of family endure.

DNA.  Deoxyribonucleic acid.  Lots of time little nucleic acids bonded together into a double stranded helical pattern.  Replicating over and over to produce the blueprint for each structure in the body.  It is almost incomprehensible to think that humans share 99.5% of their DNA with chimpanzees, and yet each human has a unique DNA profile that can be distinguished from all other humans.  DNA is both individualizing and encompassing, as is separates (distinguishes) the individual human from their contemporaries while simultaneously connecting humans to all other living organisms on earth.  In this image, a little girl returns home with the skeletal remains of her sister.  Unbreakable invisible bonds of DNA link the girl to what is left of her sister's bones, even though the recognizable features of flesh have been obliterated by decomposition.

DNA offers a powerful tool for identifying individuals and identifying those who we are closest to genetically.  In this case, the little girl is reunited with the remains of her relative combining the shared experiences and memories of family members with the shared genetic inheritance.  In this way, the siblings are able to return home together.

No more a stranger or a guest.

Ipharadisi

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile
Kulapho sophumla khona, Ipharadisi

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile

Ipharadisi, ikhaya labafile

where all the dead are living
May we one day join them all there, Ipharadisi

The song above is one that I learned during my time in high school chamber choir.  I don't remember the origin or if there was a specific author, but I always found the song comforting.  I suppose Ipharadisi represents some sort of heaven or ghost realm, though an actual translation isn't included in the song.

The image is one that I created in response to a class I took about genocide.  In the aftermath of genocide, a child sifts through human remains in hopes of recognizing family.  For me this idea is both deeply disturbing and surprisingly hopeful.  Reuniting the living and the dead offers a chance for closure, but it also forces the living to accept the reality of loss.  Following mass killings, the remaining community is forced to decide how to engage with the dead.  Although the dead are not recognized as having rights postmortem, the attached meaning and dignity of human life prevents them from ever really being just objects.  Can the living truly understand or come to terms with the dead or death while they are alive?

Darwin Day Submission

Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.
~Charles Darwin

After much prodding, I transformed my human evolution design into a piece that I could submit for the Darwin Day T-shirt competition.  Here is the final design I decided to submit.

As you can see, the design is centered around my original human evolutionary tree concept, but I added the text and the outlines of extant primates.  The three additional taxa of primates include Pan (lower left), Gorilla (lower right), and Pongo (upper left), since these genera are mostly closely related to Homo out of the primates living today.  I decided to remove the arm with the apple because I didn't think a disembodied arm would work well on a t-shirt, without an edge to line up with.  

 

Instead I added a finch perched on the girl's outstretched hand.  If you are familiar with Darwin you will recognize the finch as a one of the species of Darwin's finches that had developed a large wide beak in order to specialize on tougher food sources that finches with long narrow beaks could not easily consume.  Finches with narrow beaks specialized in feeding on different resources, allowing the different morphs to exploit different niches rather than directly competing for the same limited resources.  Over time, initial variation in beak dimensions was enhanced, since different shapes provided different advantages allowing some birds to access resources that the others could not.  Thus they didn't starve and were able to reproduce and pass their genes onto the next generation.  Anyway, I digress, basically the finch is an homage to Darwin as well a representation of a possible mechanism of change.

 

I wasn't sure if I should draw the lettering or use a font.  Also, I realized that since Darwin Day isn't until February the actual year would be 2012 (oops) so I fixed that in my final design.  Here are the original design layouts with the girl, the text, the arm and the bird.

 

Originally, I had just thought I would use my design with the girl and text on a red background, but the t-shirt had to be white so that limited the background color.  Since I didn't want to just put the girl in a square of color I tried to add color to surround the outline in by containing it in the shapes of the other primates.  I didn't like the first design because I didn't think the ape was distinct enough, so I removed that image and changed to the large ape on the right of the girl.  I then added the small ape on the left bottom and finally re-added the one at the top left.  I was trying to use the apes to make the girl stand out more so I had a difficult time laying them out to minimize the area of the girl bordered by white while simultaneously positioning them to look like they looked like they belonged in the image.  Amusingly, all of the background primates are based on pictures of chimps, but by manipulating the size and design of the images they definitely look like different apes.  Finally, I changed the color to orange to fit with the Tennessee theme.

 

I mostly like the way the design came out.  The lettering is a little strange because it crosses the orange and white backgrounds, but I tried multiple different text layouts and I couldn't find any that I like better.  I really like the addition of the extant primates because it adds context to the evolutionary tree depicted in the girl.  It would be cool to include similar evolutionary lineages in the other primates, but unfortunately I am not very familiar with the evolutionary records of other primates and I know for chimpanzees few fossils have been recovered.

 

The judging of the designs doesn't happen until January, so I guess there won't be any updates till then.  Hope you like the design, and think it would make a neat t-shirt. :)

QRcode Madness

 

Last week I discovered qrcodes.  Well, that's not exactly true, I had seen them around before and had heard that they contained a variety of different types of information including links to websites.  Actually, last week I discovered that I could make my own qrcodes.  Above is one that I created with the address for this blog.  Using photoshop I embedded the code into several designs of lemmings attached to balloons that I already created.  Nifty, right?

Anyway, my first thought when discovering the wonderful world of qrcode create was that they could be used to make an awesome scavenger hunt.  I realize I don't know anyone else who enjoys scavenger hunting quite as much as me, but there have to people out there that might be sucked in by an adorable rodent traveling via balloon.

After a little internet searching I discovered that there was already a website devoted to qrcode scavenger hunts called QR Wild.  I immediately decided to sign up.  Unfortunately the network seems to be somewhat limited and there is no way to tell where current scavenger hunts are occurring.  In order to get involved it appears that I will have to create my own hunt and hope that other people find my game pieces and decide to join my hunt.  I'm not sure how many people regularly go around scanning qrcodes, but it would be awesome if it actually works.  I downloaded some qrcode game pieces and began writing up clues to guide hunters to their hiding places.  I plan to make them into stickers so they will be small, easily hidden and not too readily moved from where I put them.  I'm already getting excited about the prospect of planting them around town.

Moreover, I think it would be fun to create my own game and hide my little lemmings around.  If people found them and scanned them they would be directed to this blog for more information.  It also might be interesting to create qrcodes containing secret messages or clues to solving a specific riddle.  I can't wait to see if qrscavenger madness will be a success! :)

A War for Hearts and Minds?

Human evolution fascinates me.  The lack of acceptance of evolutionary theory in regards to human development astounds and horrifies me.

I designed this piece to express what I thought was a clear view on evolution.  Basically, the image depicts the evolutionary lineage leading to Homo sapiens, starting with Au. afarensis at the bottom.  Au. boisei is the skull that is placed off to the left and represents an off shoot of the hominin lineage that branches away from the human lineage on a different evolutionary trajectory, eventually becoming extinct.  The skulls that continue up the torso are Homo erectus, followed by archaic Homo sapiens, then Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.  In this depiction, Neanderthals are considered to be a subspecies of Homo sapiens, rather than a separate species, which is still a hotly debated topic amongst paleoanthropologists.

Originally, many were convinced that Neanderthals and humans were biologically distinct species that did not interbreed due to the lack of admixture in mitochondrial DNA sequences of modern humans.  But more recent studies comparing nuclear DNA mixture, suggest the possibility that admixture may have indeed been occurring as modern humans and neanderthals appear to have genetic overlap.

The hand in the upper left corner of the picture is holding an apple, which the girl is reaching for.  In my original interpretation the girl represents modern humans, and evolutionary lineage of hominins is indelibly imprinted fundamental structure of her existence and physical morphology.  The hand represents an unknown omnipotent deity, extending the "fruit of knowledge," although the gesture can be seen as a taunt since there is no way for the girl to actually reach the information.

After finishing the design I quickly, and a bit glibly or maybe snarkily wrote up this description of the piece:

"even with all the evidence supporting an evolutionary path of human origins, the search for supernatural explanations continues with answers danging, forever, just out of reach (2011/Sept. 12)"


It has been several months since I finished the piece and since then I have had found myself re-evaluating my initial description of the work and even the very thought process behind it.  While I still agree with my original plan for the girl depicting human evolution, the relationship between the girl and the hand has bothered me.  Rather than depicting a negative view of God, the hand could instead be culture as a whole including a human drive to understand existence in terms of a divine presence, or even another human passing cultural knowledge on to the next generation.  While some cultural learning may be incorrect or illogical, the adaptation of culture is uniquely human.  


Since most of my training is in biology I sometimes forget the importance of recognizing the importance of culture as an adaptation for humans.  It is easy to criticize what we don't fully understand.  Rather than invoking the imagery of a war between evolution and religion, this piece can simultaneously represent the dual forces of cultural knowledge and biological adaptation that contribute to the modern understanding of the species Homo sapiens sapiens.  If I were asked to describe the piece today I think I would choose this description instead:


"anthropology: a multi-faceted approach to understanding and connecting hearts, minds and morphological origins (2011/Nov. 28)"

Giraffefish and Other Nonsense

I love this painting.  It was made by one of my best friends, and it has inspired several debates about the nature of the universe and the existence of unknown or impossible creatures (such as a giraffe fish).  During one of these debates I found myself arguing the position that even though there is no tangible proof that giraffe fish exist, the possibility of their existence should not be ruled out on that basis alone.  My friend on the other hand, argued that since there is no proof of the existence of giraffe fish, it is foolish to even consider the possibility of the existence of such a creature.  While I was focused on the immensity of the ocean and the likelihood that there are numerous undiscovered species potentially living on our planet, my friend was debating the larger social question of the existence of God.  

Yes, in this case the fictitious character of the giraffe fish plays God.  

I suppose this issue brings up and interesting difference between atheism and agnosticism.  My friend is an atheist, or at least when we were discussing this topic several years ago she was. (I think she may have joined my agnostic/ indecisive worldview at this point, but that is an entirely different discussion.)  She had made up her mind that God did not exist and chastised me for being gullible/ naive enough to entertain the possibility of any form of supernatural deity.  In response I would argue that her strong belief in atheism is equally problematic since the main evidence she uses to argue against the existence of the divine is the failure of religion to prove its existence.

I consider myself agnostic.  I honestly have no idea whether or not there are supernatural forces existing in the world.  Sometimes I find this problematic.  While I have no evidence that there is any type of deity influencing the universe, I have equally little evidence to prove that one does not exist.  In this case, atheists and religious groups alike are basing their views on a belief system, or faith, as neither can provide evidence to substantiate their claims.  One key phrase that I have heard repeatedly in my studies or biology and anthropology is the adage "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."  This phrase basically sums up my reasons for being agnostic.  The lack of evidence from either side prevents an adequate basis for drawing an informed conclusion on the topic.  While the fundamental inconsistencies in accepted modern religions lead me to reject any specific doctrine, I realize that humans created religions and humans are fallible.  Yet, it is possible that a deity beyond human comprehension exists.  Until I can gather further evidence on god's existence or lack there of, I have chosen to accept the unknowability or the universe and remain my indecisive self.

Today I was thinking about whether it would be possible for a giraffe fish to evolve through the process of natural selection.  I realize "fish" is probably and inappropriate term to use, as I expect that the proposed organism would be a mammal, but technically all tetrapods are evolutionary descendants of fish.  More on that another time.

Anyway, upon considering the potential advantages and disadvantages of giraffe features in an aquatic environment the prospects aren't great.  First of all, the elongated thin neck of a giraffe would not be streamlined or effective in an aquatic environment, especially given a more massive torso.  Secondly, the general consensus in the scientific field is that marine mammals evolved from a wolf-like ancestor that returned to an aquatic environment.  Thus, an aquatic giraffe would probably represent a parallel evolutionary trajectory of an herbivorous quadruped that returned to the water and adapted to the conditions by developing fins (ect.). While parallelism are common in mammalian evolutionary history, my friend had a point when she noted that an aquatic giraffe-like creature would probably have difficulty remaining unnoticed by humans since it would need to breath oxygen, and would need to be fairly large to maintain mammalian metabolic functions in an aquatic environment.  

That being said, I challenge anyone to completely disprove the possibility of the existence of a giraffe fish.