In preparation for the 2019 Annual Conference in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), June 29 through July 6, the Conference Oversight Committee put together initial research and tips for planning your flight.
Flight Travel Tips - a reference for finding flights on your own, and what you can expect in terms of fares. Download PDF here.
A group of Visual Arts organizations is doing a quick survey to get a handle on how artist use the Copyright system, or even if they use it. Plus they are looking for input on several ideas for how to improve the system in the USA. The survey is pretty easy and you are able to offer opinions on different proposed registration methods (multiple choice answers.) It takes about 10-15 min. This collected information is anonymous and is input for their commenting on the proposed US Copyright Office regulation changes.
Right now Illustrators appear to be treated pretty unfairly when compared to photographers. You might want to take a few minutes and fill this out, even if you have never copyrighted anything, but might consider if it was an easy thing to do.
Maeve Doyle, of the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI), has written a good article about the process of reconstruction of an invertebrate at the Burgess Shale and the importance of art and the artist in science.
> Artistic reconstruction of Habelia optata by Joanna Liang.
For any GNSI members residing in New England: The New England chapter is seeking entries for a show on mass migrations in the NE area. Chapter membership not required. The show will run November 13 - December 27. Submit your entry forms by September 1st.
Mass migrations take place all over the world, yet when someone mentions mass migration, we are more likely to imagine huge herds of wildebeests and zebra on the plains of Africa than the visitors who come to our own backyards, ponds, rivers, forests, and beaches right here in New England. You don’t have to go on a safari halfway around the globe to encounter a migratory species, sometimes you simply have to step out into your own yard.
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators 50th Anniversary Conference Group Photo in the Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall Rotunda of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on July 18, 2018. You can find a running list of the photo IDs here: https://2018.conf.gnsi.org/merchandise/group-photo-id
Longtime GNSI member Alice Tangerini is featured in the July issue of the Smithsonian Magazine.
Alice Tangerini’s botanical illustrations all begin the same way: with a seemingly simple line drawing, in which she explores a plant’s features—leaves, seed, stem, perhaps a flower or two. Next, she uses a microscope to investigate her specimen’s tiny hairs and veins, recreating their likeness in delicate lines with the pressure-sensitive pen of an architect or engineer drafter. Tangerini has adopted the tools and the vision of both the artist and scientist for her work, which is, as she describes it, “art in the service of science".
GNSI invites you to join us live on Facebook for a Conference Plenary session. Be a part of the GNSI Conference!
10:30 am July 17, 2018
My artist origin story takes a form I think is fairly common for scientific illustrators. I grew up in Seattle with parents who didn’t study science, and knew little about art, but encouraged my interest in both. In our household, you could maintain a concentrated area of chaos in some corner by saying “don’t touch that, I’m in the middle of a project,” and my brothers and I usually each had several projects going at any given time, ranging from painting to rebuilding machines bought from the thrift store.
My family loved nature, and we enjoyed camping, hiking and outdoor sports. Travel was also a priority, and a few times during childhood we were pulled out of school for months at a time for “sabbaticals,” which profoundly impacted my goals for adult life.
I’ve always been inquisitive and fascinated by nature. I would spend many hours drawing as a child but, despite my interest in nature, I never thought to draw it. Instead, I spent my time reading and drawing Marvel Comics superheroes. Being the son of immigrant parents, I was encouraged to pursue a career that was stable and with a steady income; they didn’t want their son to become a struggling artist. So I set my sights on science with the hopes of going to medical school.
In my senior year in high school, my biology teacher noticed that I used drawings to record my observations in labs and mentioned that some people made a living from illustrating scientific concepts. Looking back now I’m shocked that I didn’t even consider a career in scientific illustration. I guess I thought since this vocation involved art, it would be a hard sell to my parents. So I put it out of my mind.
Illustrators and their agents are invited to enter work to the World Illustration Awards into one of eight categories. The deadline for entries is February 6, 2018. Appropriate for science illustrators is the category "Research", described as "Research and investigation to represent, explain or understand information, including illustration supporting academic research, forensic illustration, scientific illustration, natural history illustration, medical illustration, visual informatics, and data visualization."
• This year there are cash prizes for the Overall Winners, sponsored by Rotring: $2,500+ for the Overall Professional Winner, and $1,300+ for the Overall New Talent Winner.
The first time I met Diane, she was interviewing me for a job. I remember thinking that Diane was really nice. I ended up getting that job, and over the years working with and being mentored by Diane, I found out I was wrong — Diane was not nice.
Diane was passionate, talented and thoughtful. She cared deeply for students. Caring about politics, art, animals, justice, and education, she was well-read and curious, proudly a life-long learner. She cared about her friends and family and lived her words with action, whether it meant standing up for someone, raising her own awareness, advocating for those being marginalized, or volunteering time and expertise to make a difference in her community. Diane was quiet about herself, and a cheerleader for others.
The Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) is seeking presenters for the 2018 AMI 2018 Annual Conference in Newton, Massachusetts, July 18-21. This will be the 73rd Annual AMI Conference! We are inviting passionate speakers to illuminate the subjects that inspire you the most.
With the holidays fast approaching many of us will be shopping online for the perfect gifts for family and friends. Did you know you can support the mission of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators when you shop using Amazon Smile?
If you have never used Amazon Smile, when you go to https://smile.amazon.com, you will be directed to select a charity. Search for "Guild of Natural Science Illustrators". If you have used Smile before, you can choose a new organization to support (see the image below).
The Pollinator Partnership is seeking an artist to render the 2018 Pollinator Poster, this year focusing on “Pollinators and Seeds: Supporting healthy ecosystems and food security.” To apply to illustrate the poster, please send a one-page narrative concept idea with a draft sketch to Kelly Rourke at [email protected] by Monday, December 11, 2017. Final illustration will be due by Friday, February 9, 2018.
The Pollinator Partnership (P2) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization-- the largest organization in the world dedicated solely to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Unfortunately, they are in trouble. Some species have seen a 90% decline in their populations over the last decade. Without the actions of pollinators, agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would suffer.
Our colleagues from the Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine have asked the GNSI to spread a short survey they have put together to find out what their readership thinks and to make more people aware of the journal.
For those not already familiar with the journal, you can find out more here: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ijau20/current
Visit the Database of Science Illustrators 1450-1950, active since 2011, to find information about over 10400 illustrators active in natural history, medicine, and technology, in more than 100 countries, between 1450 and 1950.
Are you willing to share your expertise and experience with your peers? The 2018 GNSI Annual Conference is July 15-21, in Washington, DC. Planning is well underway. If you are interested in giving a talk, present at the Technique Showcase or teach a workshop - please fill out the form!
We may not be able to accommodate all speakers but will try.
I studied art in the 70s and 80s. We learned art history, participated in exhibits and group critiques, experimented with materials, and worked to develop a “style” or point of view for expression. Computers and the “world wide web” were barely in the mainstream. Classes about the business end of making art and being a professional were nonexistent, at least for me it seemed so. Most artists I knew that were successful moved to a large urban area and made cold calls and knocked on doors while waiting tables and other “day” jobs, or already knew professionals in the business.
When I joined GNSI in 1991, summer conferences gave me the inspiration and networking I desired. I learn best by doing, and helping run a national conference appealed to me. But I did not have a GNSI chapter or local members to team with, and taking on conference planning seemed daunting without local help to rely on. As internet communication and business practices advanced, so did the possibilities of working with teams in various locations across the country. Online project management applications, in this case, Basecamp, appeared as a way for GNSI members to work collaboratively. I was skeptical at first, but as I participated in this tool, I began to appreciate the organic and fluid ways that I could contribute with a large team of GNSI members located across the country to do something phenomenal such as run a professional international organization and annual conference.
