Congratulations to Beatriz Inglessis for completing the certificate program in scientific illustration!
From locations in Japan, Istabul, Venezuela, and the United States, Beatriz worked through the Scientific Illustration Distance Program seamlessly. Together, we tested and proved how effective a distance program can be.
Beatriz came to the program as an established fine artist, receiving her PhD in Fine Art from Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) with a focus on Japanese woodcut printing. Her SIDP internship at La Brea Tar Pits and Museum combined her recent studies in scientific illustration with her skills in woodcut printing.
"The internship at La Brea Tar Pits, a distinguished scientific and educational institution and the world’s most famous ice-age fossil excavation site, was extremely rewarding, and has opened my horizons in many different ways.
"The assignment was to produce scientifically accurate, yet attractive graphics, to represent the collection. "
Through the internship:
"I improved my scientific illustration skills... sketching from actual specimens.... learning to draw from a state-of- the-art camera lucida and from a microscope.
"I learned about paleontology, microfossils, tooth anatomy, the typical diet of a herbivore, scientific nomenclature for teeth specimens...preservation of fossils...
"My experience was further enriched by meeting professionals of other fields working at the fossil lab doing casting, cataloging, and managing of the collection.
" [From a practical business standpoint,] I learned to prepare contracts, write project proposals, and improve my scientific vocabulary [in order] to communicate better with paleontologists and lab technicians.
"My experience at La Brea Tar Pits has given me a great appreciation for scientific institutions in the deepening and broadening of knowledge of the world around us, and the appreciation of science for art and illustration. It is a proof that true scientific knowledge also encompass the knowledge of the arts."
To read more about Beatriz, visit her website at: http://www.beatrizinglessis.net
Images: top left: fossil bison tooth drawing. Top right: fossil bison tooth woodblock print.
lower left: fossil mammoth drawing. Top right: fossil mammoth woodblock print.
All drawings copyright Beatriz Inglessis 2016
