Why sketching matters + some of the many ways we can use sketches in SciArt and SciComm
I recently gave an invited talk/interview for a high school scientific illustration class. It was so much fun to think with them about...
top of page
Blog & Tips
- 1 min
Sketching Tip: Sketching Techniques Toolkit
Student practicing simplifying a complex image into essential line work (at a Sketching for Scientists workshop I taught at Harvard...
- 4 min
Sketching Tip: Recommended materials for nature sketching & field sketching
Using quality materials makes sketching a bit easier, because these materials are designed to produce visually appealing drawings....
- 1 min
Article: Drawn to Science
This invited commentary in Nature is a pep-talk for science educators considering integrating drawing into their science teaching and...
- 3 min
Article: Drawn to Natural History: Facilitation advice and classroom examples for instructors integr
This summer, a publication I led was published in the academic journal Natural Sciences Education. Like other resources I’ve shared, this...
- 1 min
Drawn to Science Communication: Art-Science Synergy as a Career and a Way of Life
I recently gave an invited career talk at the 2020 annual conference of the Ecological Society of America. In case others are interested,...
- 1 min
Drawing Science: An Interview with Interalia Magazine
In March 2019, Richard Bright of Interalia Magazine interviewed me for the journal’s Drawing Thoughts series. Drawing Thoughts explores...
- 3 min
Scientists’ SciArt featured by The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
Front page article in The Times-Picayune features hand-drawn #SketchYourScience sketches by ecologists, quotes me encouraging folks to...
- 1 min
Laramie Boomerang covers dedication of downtown mural
In spring 2017, I was one of 13 artists commissioned by the Laramie Mural Project to design and paint a component of the expansion of the...
- 1 min
Book review of “Then There Were None”
Last year, a book I illustrated was published! The book, Then There Were None: The Demise of Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Pusch Ridge...
- 1 min
Gillette News Record picks up press release about grad students’ interpretations of local mura
In Autumn 2017, I led a co-taught graduate seminar course called “The Art of Science Communication.” The first project we assigned to the...
- 1 min
Missoulian covers “Drawn to Science Communication” plenary
Click here to read the article, behind a paywall. #workshop #scicommadvice #sciart #scicommbyscientists #Mediacoverage #visualscicomm
- 1 min
Inspiration: Natural history resources and examples to jump-start and inspire
There’s a lot of SciArt out there, as you can see by this Google Image search for the term “#sciart”. A few weeks ago, a friend wrote and...
- 2 min
Sketching Tip: Being ready to sketch (or, how few sketching supplies you really need)
Sketching any time, any where, gets easier with practice. But planning for sketching helps, too. Here are three small sets of materials...
- 2 min
Article: Creative convergence: exploring biocultural diversity through art
I had the great honor of collaborating with my friend Dr. Jean Polfus and her Sahtu Dene community collaborators on this publication. In...
- 2 min
Sketching Tip: Using words for all they are worth
Hares sketched in East Africa – this was the best I ever could do, because they didn’t stick around long enough! (© B.G.Merkle, 2016) Not...
- 1 min
Artful Science: Learning by drawing
Work in progress: illustration of a Wyoming toad (© B.G. Merkle, 2017) One of my favorite things about being an artist is getting to...
- 2 min
Sketching Tip: Sketching your notes at conferences, meetings & in class
Notes from a training I did in preparation to volunteer for an amphibian monitoring citizen science project in Wyoming. These tips are...
- 2 min
Sketching Tip: Insects
A draft illustration that didn’t ultimately wind up in the final image (©BGMerkle, 2016) It’s still summer where I live (though not for...
- 2 min
Summer 2017 newsletter: Drawing on windows, making fish & more art-science tips
Click image to view full newsletter. Happy summer, dear readers! I trust this finds you enjoying the weather and doing a bit of...
bottom of page