How I started doing neuro art

Back in 2014, I was invited to participate in a fiber art invitational called 'Common Threads' at the Foe Store and Gallery, then located on Main Street in Northampton, MA. I had been going to their gallery openings for a long time and was delighted to be invited to the show. So excited that I wanted to make some new work with a new focus. After lamenting to my partner, improv aficionado Izzy Gesell, that I didn’t know what to do, he suggested that I think about doing brains. WELL….that was a brilliant idea….and, I immediately started researching.

The first two pieces came to life as Neurofiberosis 1 & 2. I imagined what you would call it when someone always has fiber on the brain.  #1 is built from crazy quilt techniques, while  #2 is all hand embroidery and beadwork.

Below is the source photo for the information I used to map the different parts of the brain. 

Image found on Pinterest - if you know who should be credited please leave a comment!

And then... something kind of magical happened. A colleague at my office saw those first two pieces and commissioned this third piece. Her daughter had a hemispherectomy at the age of 11 and she wanted a right facing brain piece, and so I created 'Starry Night' shown below. You can meet Monica in my blog post here.

I wasn't really planning on doing more brains but I became so intrigued with the subject matter I just kept going and now, in my 4th year, I am thoroughly entranced. I was further encouraged by friends who saw the work and also by the neuroscience faculty that I support in the day job (which you can read about here .)
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And so.... the story continues to unfold. The more I learn about the brain, the more fascinated I become and the more I learn. Each time I do a piece I reference real neuroscience information and look at imagery that informs my art.  The books below have become my best reference sources although the amount of information one can find on the internet is just staggering.  

Some of my latest pieces have focused on the cellular level - neurons and stem cells seen below. Click on an image to get to the Gallery & Shop listing where you can read about each piece.