Workshop: Diatom Microscopy and Sketching

An art and science experience

An online microscopy experience combining Kira’s diatom research with the expertise of biologist and materials scientist Sue Okerstrom of Lichen Labs.

Lichen Labs: https://www.lichenlabs.net/

The workshop will include an introduction to a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and then an overview of Kira’s current art and research for Diatom Lanterns. Following that, Sue will turn on the microscope and show us the macro to micro-scale details of diatoms and we can zoom into whatever structures capture our attention. As we find interesting samples to investigate, Kira will lead two sketching exercises, helping you explore how you can capture and describe details of interest.

Details

Saturday November 8th
11:00am Mountain Time (Alberta, Montana)

An email will be sent before the workshop sharing the link and details.

Cost

$20 for a two hour online session (Zoom).

If you can’t make it to the live session, a video will be shared with all who register.

What to Bring

We’ll be doing some sketching and drawing during the session, we recommend:

• A heavier weight paper

• A pencil or pen that is comfortable and fun to draw with

• Coloured pencils or markers

Schedule

Here is the rough layout for this session:

• 10 minutes: Introduction to the SEM.

• 30 minutes: Presentation on Diatoms and Diatom Lanterns

• 30 minutes: Microscope and sketch

• 20 minutes: Discussion / Q + A

• 20 minutes: Microscope and sketching

• 10 minutes: Closing discussion

Looking forward to exploring the connections between art and science!