You might recall the page I created (and linked to this blog) where I post awesome science-y stuff that I find around the web. Well, I've been inspired by a friend to create a Twitter account where I can post things as I find them! Should be an awesome venue where I can share things with others and keep an archive for myself.
If you Twitter, follow the link above and 'follow' me, won't you??
Wow - I can't believe I did it! I FINALLY sorted out my portfolios over at www.megalo-media.com (my professional art/medical illustration website, as they say).
I've been searching and searching for a clean, readily update-able, gallery app or bit of code and I finally found it! Pictobrowser was the answer to my prayers! They make such a clean and functional (free!) flash gallery app. There's a nice option for a disappearing thumbnail gallery that can overlay the viewing area with a space for a title. And a useful 'notes' link for each piece where you can add more information; I used it for additional facts, media used, and the date the piece was created. Lastly, I like the fact that, with the 'link'... er... link, you can click through to the Flickr page of the image and leave a comment, if you so desire.
It was a SNAP to set up AND since it takes your images from Flickr sets, as you update those sets, it AUTOMATICALLY updates the relevant website gallery! I cannot begin to relate how awesome that is. My online portfolio will be SO much more up-to-date now.
And, the MOST EXCITING bit-o-news, the 'mine' section of my megalo-media portfolio is now open! It's only taken me something like 3 years to get it up and running ;) I like having the portfolio split into 'mine' and 'yours' so that I can have both sides of my artistic repertoire showcased on the same site without it confusing the viewer.
Feedback is always welcome, so, let me know what you think!
IN PHD-LAND, next week is my last week with my current lab before I start my next rotation. I'm going to miss them so much. From this perspective, I really hope I can make it my permanent home for the next 3 years.
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
Befriend me, won't you?
http://www.facebook.com/megan.e.foldenauer
(FB just began a feature where you can actually have your name in your URL on their site - awesome idea!)
Oh, and if you missed the news awhile back, my Drawing-A-Day project also has a page where you can become a 'fan', if you're into that sort of thing: CLICK HERE.
Let's see... life is pretty good at the moment, I must admit. I love the lab wherein I'm doing my 2nd rotation. I'm still required to do a 3rd (which I will do from 7/11-8/29), but, I'd be amazed if it could top my current lab. The people are GREAT and the work is very very interesting (corneal wound healing).
I'm learning lab techniques that I've wanted to learn for years and I'm finding out that I'm not a total slob at them. :)
Taking the leap I did to return to Wayne State, from this vantage point, was the right decision. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but, I don't regret it at all. I bet I'll eat those words when I'm in the thick of disseration writing, you know? ;)
Coming up are classes in the fall in Molecular Bio and perhaps Anatomy of the Eye... I'll have my big 'qualifying exams' in about a year. After that? I write and do lab stuff and write some more.
Ah, science. I think I... I... llll... love... you.
Was that a cheesy title? ;p
So, hello! I know I've been quiet a bunch the last few months. My daily routine has COMPLETELY changed - from an undergrad with a fairly relaxed schedule, no commute, and lots of homework to a graduate student with a 9-5 lab job, a 40-minute (each way) commute to Detroit, and no homework (yet).
It's all very exciting... not leaving me too much time for art, but, I'm sure that'll change as I settle in.
First impressions thus far? Being in a lab is very disorienting. You feel like you're doing important work, but, you have to be supervised (for now) until you master techniques. Despite this being my second rotation, I feel like a grown-up and a newbie all in one. You read and read and read. You wait and wait and wait (for experiments, meetings, lunch). You listen and listen and listen.
When I was in graduate school before (not Hopkins, but my 1st stint at Wayne St.) it wasn't like this. I was a ball of stress and gut-wrenching anxiety wrapped up in a blanket of uncertainty. It was god awful. Calm and true contemplation of the science I was attempting to master was not part of my life.
What has become plain is that I was NOT ready to be in a science-based PhD program back then. I have grown so much and now I feel utterly on the right path. Will it last? Well, I know this will be anything but easy... I'm in hope-mode.
These revelations are coming to me and I've only been at this for a little under 3 weeks. Amazing.
Anyway, I'd love to chronicle this journey I'll be immersed in for the next 3 years (that's all the time I have to finish my PhD - um, yeah)... hopefully I'll be able to manage my time to make it happen.
Oh, and did I mention I'm running my first 5K this coming weekend? I feel very unlike myself, but so me... very bizarre.
Wee! If you've been following my Drawing-A-Day project, you might recognize this :)
Blurb is responsible for these awesome things. I have no complaints with the quality or working with them. Please consider snagging one for yourself or a friend! I'll sign it when I see you :)
See here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/669559
Hello from my new iPod touch! Weeee!
It's been too long! What to report? Hmm... Well, I'm graduating with my 2nd Bachelors in two days :) That's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.
Also, I've started a watercolor for the first time in forever. I'll post it soon!
Lastly, I start my lab rotation at Wayne State in a few weeks. I hope to blog about that a lot. It's gonna be intense, methinks.
Laura Splan amazes me. I mean, I'm at once speechless when I look at her work and supremely jealous that I never thought of this (as usual) being the crafty science illustrator that I am! She's approached 'anatomical art' in a way I've never seen before and it's subtlety just floors me. My favourite sort of blend: deadly and gorgeous. Mega-kudos to you, Laura. Seriously.
And it is COOL! Could you imagine the potential for subject matter? Think of the drawings I could do! The detail is simply incredible.
Here's a set of the rest of the images I've done so far. Enjoy!
http://www.anti.com/media/download/708
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I've created another new off-shoot from this here blog: http://redmeg8.typepad.com/meganderings/beyond-labcoats-and-goggles-science-wearables.html
I'm collecting awesome science-related goods from around the web... all for you and those geeky types you need to buy things for. :)
It's in its infancy, so, please check back often for more stuff (there's a permanent link under 'pages' there in the left column) - it might get its own site some day, even. Dream big!
Enjoy!
Yay! I'm listed as a 'runner-up" in the Short Award's #art category! Hooray! :D
The Shorty's were created to honor "the best producers of short* content in 2008 (*140 characters or less, on Twitter)".