Another science alphabet doodle. Maybe this will be turning into an Invertebrate Alphabet series. They are fun to do, even though they are a grand procrastination. I enjoy the hand lettering, exploring bits of my past.

As for the infra order Brachyura – these are the true crabs, with short tails folded under their bodies (Brachyura comes from the Greek brachys oura or “Short Tail”). There are over 6000 species of brachyura. Most are marine but there are about 1000 species that live all or a significant part of their lives in either freshwater or on land. They range in size from a few millimeters across to a leg span of 4 meters!

Brachyurans eat just about anything: detritus, seaweeds and sea grasses, mussels, fish, fresh carrion and each other. In turn they are eaten by pretty everyone as well: mainly other crustaceans and fish, but also birds, starfish, sea turtles and of course mammals including us. True crabs are a delicious and economically important food source—1.3 tons of true crabs were commercially captured in 2010.

The Aplacophora are a very interesting group of exclusively marine molluscs. These worm-like creature were once considered to be holothurians (sea cucumbers) but they were later identified as molluscs from their mantle and primitive radula (two key features of molluscs). Most have been found in very deep waters (as in 5km+ deep). Most of the discovered species live their life buried in the mud feeding on detritus and microscopic organisms in the mud. Some prey on cnidarians. Most are tiny (as in a few mm in length) but some tip the tapes in excess of 30cm long. All have no internal or external shell, though they do have calcareous spicules in their mantle. So far ~300 species have been documented. In the Mollusc Diversity Playing Cards the 2 of Spades is the large Aplacaphoran, Neomenia yamamotoi.

Desktop Sketching
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.

I’ve been doing more sketching so far this year, partly, because I realized I was getting massively burned out last year. I have always enjoyed art—drawing, textile design, type design—and a few years ago I was set to follow it full time. Then the opportunity to go back to school for marine science came up, and I had to jump at it. Unfortunately, being a full time student really reduced the time I had for other pursuits. Grad school squashed what time was available for artistic pursuits to nothing. For the past three years I have done almost nothing artistic. The last significant art project I worked on was the octopus scarf. The one exception is might be Science Deck cards, but I don’t count that because it is all digital design, and more and more, I need analog art mediums. I need to feel the art come to life in my hands.

This sketch was the first effort this year, born of frustration with progress in my writing and a burning need to find some way to detach from the thesis writing in an enjoyable, and dare I say it, me-centered moment or two. Fortunately, when I focus on art, I am pretty solidly focused, but it is a very different type of focus than writing or crunching numbers. Instead of a focus that becomes heavy over time, it is one that seems to make things lighter.

This year (and next) will be very stressful. Transitioning into a fast attack Ph.D. plan (total of 4 years of research/classes/study) quals, thesis writing, presentations, etc. To keep from going totally bonkers—a highly technical term—I absolutely need to have some down time nurturing the creative side. To further that end, I started making a concerted effort to sketch at least every other day. Not a resolution or a promise, but a goal, same as my goal of 120 dives and 120+ hours in the water this year. Doable, but if it doesn’t happen, it’s no big deal. Just something to aim for.

The sketch above was my desk at the time of the sketching. On the right is my Wacom tablet, to the left of it is the legal pad with notes for my thesis writing—yes, I write the first draft of each chapter longhand on legal paper. All my major note-taking methods (except drawing) are represented in the image:

1. Small Moleskines for taking daily notes.
2. A larger notebook (this one also a Moleskine on the left) with project notes, effectively my lab notebook.
3. Index cards above that for details about each video or photo frame (community composition, location, etc). Each card ends as a record (several records actually) in a database in the end.
4. A legal pad for writing manuscript rough drafts.

Scattered on the desk are several of my writing tools: a pair of Waterman Hemispheres and a Waterman Phileas. One of the Hemispheres has a matte black finish with a fine nib and is loaded with black ink. The other has a blue, marbled body with a medium nib and is filled with Noodler’s Polar Blue ink. The Phileas is a medium nib with blue Waterman ink, a real workhorse of a fountain pen, which was quite affordable in it’s day. It’s a little large for my hand, but still comfortable enough for hour long writing sessions. This one is now out of commission, as the end cap came off and got lost just the other day. I really like the Hemispheres. They are very nice pens. I do need to spend some time with the fine tipped one—a gift from Dad—to personalize the nib. It’s just a bit scratchy right now. Unfortunately, my favorite pen of all, a Parker Sonnet with fine nib, is not in the lineup since its nib met with the deck of the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster during the one evening of storm waves we had during our cruise last spring. It slipped longways off the desk and landed directly on the nib, doing quite a bit of damage. I’m hoping that the folks at the Fountain Pen Hospital will be able to affordably fix it by either replacing the nib or straightening it out.

I plan to post several new drawings and doodles here and at my Flickr Photostream.

The obvious question is, “How?” We barely get by right now. We were forced to live off of our savings and house downpayment a long time ago. The first thought that came to my mind was a bake sale. Why not? Other people have done it. Eric was skeptical and laughed, thinking I was joking. I was dead serious. You don’t know if something will work until you try and regular channels aren’t working. We have to get creative to get what we want.

So I suggested my idea about CafePress again. He’s had an account set up there, but never did much with it. When I was brainstorming for ideas on how to make money to cover our bills if the PhD offer doesn’t come through, I thought of printing our leaf art onto T-shirts to sell. Eric read about other scientists who have turned to the online community for help and thought, “Well, maybe we CAN do it.” And so, Science Bake Sale was born.

Diver on Gray's Reef - Leaf art inspired by research dives on Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Please go take a look and see if you like what we have so far. We have plans for more CafePress designs and some marine biology and ocean themed original artwork and dyed clothing that will go up on an Etsy Store as well. Our first goal is to buy a replacement scooter, so Eric is sure to be able to complete his research dives.

About 4 years ago, the same woman contacted me again. We had moved since then and so had the little girl’s family. I was surprised she had found me. She asked me if I could make another bear for her daughter. The one I made had been lost in a move. Thankfully, I had made a pattern of the bear when I made the first one, so I told the woman it would be no problem. I made another copy and sent it off to her. Again, I thought that would be the last time I would hear from them.

About a month ago the same mother called me on the phone. Now the little girl has graduated from high school and is getting ready to go off to college. The bear has been lost again. Now the young lady doesn’t care so much about it, at least she said she didn’t. She doesn’t need the bear like she used to, but mom does. So the mother asked me to make yet another bear for her daughter to take with her to college.

Just a week before the phone call, I was clearing out some old stuff and came across the teddy bear pattern. I held it in my hand for some time trying to decide whether or not to toss it. Something told me I should keep it. I’m glad I did! When the mother mailed me the payment for the order, she enclosed a note requesting two bears this time. I called her yesterday to confirm that she received the package with the two bears in it. She had and she loves them. Her daughter’s birthday is this weekend and she plans to give her one of the bears then. I still have the first picture and asked for a new picture of her daughter with the new teddy bear.

One of my friends here was joking about how the mother is probably going to contact me again in a few years to order another bear for her new grandchild. I’ve already decided to permanently keep this teddy bear pattern. So I had to laugh when the mother told me on the phone that she thought she’d put the second teddy bear away for when she gets her first grandchild.

A pair of no longer lost teddies.

Making of an Ocean Birthday creature gluing the gill rosette on a white spotted sea goddess rendered in marzipan.
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.

Johann decided on Project Oceanology and an ocean theme. Since Project O is all about hands-on ocean education, it’s perfect for us! I thought cupcakes would be easier to serve than worrying about a cake and inevitably forgetting to bring a knife to cut it. While surfing the web looking for ideas, we found a business that uses fondant to decorate cakes and cupcakes. The owner did some cupcakes for a party with sea creatures on it that looked wonderful. I didn’t feel I knew enough about fondant to make decorations for this party using it, but I could do something similar in marzipan.

When I was 10, my family was stationed in Germany and I was taking art lessons from Heidi Herzfeld. She was a kind, gentle person. She only taught children how to draw and paint in watercolors, I think because she knew children wouldn’t get hung up on her handicap or have a problem with her being in a wheel chair. A childhood case of polio had left her paralyzed. She was one of the very few people in my life who saw my talent and nurtured it. In fact, I loved her so much that when the time came for us to move, I asked to stay in Germany with Heidi so that I could continue to study with her.

Tammy hard at work on a marzipan rendition of the Giant Pacific Octopus
Originally uploaded by eclectic echoes.

One day, when I was the only child that had come for lessons, she took me into her back room and showed me the new project she had been working on. She smiled and her eyes shone when she saw my amazed reaction. She had a 4–foot–long table covered in marzipan creations, all various fruits and vegetables. They were so perfect, I had to keep reminding myself that these didn’t come from miniature trees and plants, but they were marzipan that she had molded and painted with food coloring. She explained to me how she did it and then demonstrated how she made a green apple, even how she painted on the blush highlights so it looked like it had been kissed by the sun.

Although my tutorial had been excellent, I had never done it before, so I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. Now was my time to try. If it didn’t work, I would just serve plain cupcakes. We went out to buy new paint brushes yesterday, since I couldn’t find any in the house that hadn’t already touched paint. When we got home, I got to work. Eric and Johann helped me choose creatures and provided pictures and toy animals as models. It took me all day, but it was worth it! I had so much fun making the critters and they will add a special touch to Johann’s party.

One of Grandpa’s pictures of zebras sold and will be on its way to Germany once the show is over! If you’re in the vicinity, please go and take a look. This set of photographs is amazing (no bias there at all!) and you’ll be glad you went! If you can’t make it, we’ll be posting another entry when his new website goes live, and watch here for a few more samples of his work from Antarctica.

Urinary Tract Wallpaper by Shannon Wright

Hat tip to Miriam at The Oyster’s Garter

My father is a professional photographer and now has a web site to show some of his works. I love his bear series of photographs and hope you will too. The cool thing is that he is also providing some facts and conservation information about some of these magnificent animals. I often have to wonder if the work he will do as a photographer will have more impact in informing people’s opinion about nature and conservation than my plans as a scientist or science communicator.

My own photography has taken a back seat to school and I do miss it. I especially love doing underwater video and photo work. If I could make an impact by producing a book or being on the team that produces a book on the beauty of underwater life similar to the magnificent and inspirational books Reef by Scubazoo or The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss, I would jump at the chance. I love underwater photography even more than doing nature photography above water.

Speaking of science communication, I will now be participating in a multi-author blog called The Other 95% (TO95% for short). It is a site mostly dedicated to talking about invertebrates and the latest news, science publications, jokes, videos, etc. related to inverts.

I just put up my first posting there, about recent discoveries of social and complex mating rituals in a species of octopus. I hope you will look at it and enjoy. I took this on in part to help myself become a better writer and in part to help spread the beauty of inverts, especially cephalopods.