I am FINALLY in the last stretch of classes at NMU before Student Teaching and I could not be happier with that realization :). This semester has been so academically and personally rewarding and transformative. I am taking more time to work on the things I am interested in pursuing, becoming more organized, keeping my motivation levels at the highest highs, and accomplishing a great deal of work and to-do listing in the process! Needless to say, I am feeling good and ready for the next step forward into whatever comes. But on to the 403 plans..
About a year ago next month I applied to Prakash Lab's Foldscope project as I mentioned in an earlier blog post (WOW Wednesday: Microscopic Art. That was a really link-heavy paragraph and I apologize, but it's important to provide background!
SO #excited! Received my @foldscope beta testers in the mail a few days ago :) SO much #SCIENCE to be explored! #thankful #edtech
— Breanne Kanak (@MsBreKArt) December 12, 2014
After watching the Foldscope TED talk and thoroughly freaking out about the prospect of having a Foldscope (or even a set of scopes!) as a learning tool, I bit the bullet and put my name into a list for the Foldscope project... and received an email soon after!
ANYWAY, you have to remove the components from the sheet and then there is a specific order for putting together each scope. There are different strength lenses to use to see samples. I have been playing with high and low level lenses to see what kind of images come from each. My dad and I experimented with some 'samples' from the house like...
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| a stray crumb we found on the table |
ink from the scope itself!
Each set of scopes came with one light (LED) circuit panel to attach to the scope and lens adapters. I knew right away what I wanted to do... I wanted to try out my Microscopic Art lesson from before! The lesson I had planned in my previous post was about nature and the surrounding animals and plants in the environment. My own experiments, samples, and findings with Foldscopes became much more personal than that... The first few snapshots were nothing special. I had taken samples of my own hair and put them together on a slide to see under the scope. You can see the progression of understanding and quality - you can never learn if you don't try!
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| check out those split ends :P |
Experimenting with my @foldscope s today for my senior show! Looking at hair, saliva, and snot. #SCIENCE #artaboutit pic.twitter.com/nBj1fZPXir
— Breanne Kanak (@MsBreKArt) January 21, 2015
The next few blocks of text are from my 403 Artist Statement: I have always been fascinated by microscopes. I have many memories of creating slides and samples from the environment around me just to see what tiny components made up the greater whole. The thought of seeing the tiniest living things and objects brought into sharp focus and magnified is a fascinating and remarkable one. Last year I was given the unique opportunity to take part in Stanford’s Foldscope Beta Testing program. Constructed of special paper, complete with lenses, light source, and slide-making supplies, this microscopy technology could take field medicine and diagnosis to areas of great need across the globe. My utilization of this unique technology concerns something much closer to home: my own health and wellness.
#pastel #drawing of spit as seen under a #foldscope #progress #art #messy #keyboardcarnage pic.twitter.com/W3OoFes0nz
— Breanne Kanak (@MsBreKArt) January 28, 2015
Foldscope technology allows me to take screenshots using my iPhone camera, which then provide me with images of these microscopic worlds to magnify and draw. In this series I wanted to explore my own health concerns through collected samples from various areas of my own body. Each sample is also a product of the day-to-day functions of life as a woman. This includes but is not limited to: skin, hair, blood, saliva, menstrual blood, tears, nails etc. The softness and illustrative quality of pastel accentuates the blurred but complex source photographs. The blackness surrounding each lens mimics the source images but also creates an air of mystery, uncertainty, and unease. The insides of our bodies are full of dark recesses and mysteries; when samples were brought into light under sharp focus amazing images appeared, regardless of their origins. As an art educator I believe in the importance of integrating the arts with other core subjects. Foldscopes allow access to draw and study previously unseen or unknown worlds and creatures that live, literally, under our very noses. We can actively integrate science and art simply by using one subject to inspire and inform the other, which is a powerful concept to teach.
Hi, I'm @MsBreKArt and I like to take #pictures of #gross things with my #foldscopes #art #EW #science pic.twitter.com/uHiqdduVu9
— Breanne Kanak (@MsBreKArt) February 8, 2015
My hope is that by studying these bodily samples and portraying them in an appealing, beautiful medium people can begin to view and appreciate them in new ways. I also want to encourage viewers to gather and create their own slides to be viewed by others and possibly to also inspire new artistic creations and explorations. -- End statement.
After the initial getting-to-know you pleasantries of figuring out the best ways to use the scopes, my camera settings on my phone, the abilities of the scope and image quality... it was time to have fun!
I set out to gather as many samples as possible. Be warned! These images and their pairing captions are not for the squeamish - I have been having a lot of fun collecting and organizing them, but I am beyond strange, so take that as you will... Here is a small sampling of the images I have taken with the Foldscopes and my iPhone.
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| snot - boogers! |
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| saliva - spit! |
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| I believe these were skin cells from my face... |
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| I rubbed the slide against my teeth for this one - tasty! |
Stay Tuned.. don't be too grossed out :)
Ms. Kanak
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