Summer has kept me busy. So busy, that I haven’t had time to update my site. Bad Sienna! Well, if you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, then you probably knew all about it, but here are the updates:

Sweetwater was a huge success. Thank you, everyone who came out. I am still blown away by the level of support and excitement. If you were there, you know how much fun I had. I honestly haven’t had such a good time at a show before. Maybe it was all the sciency people who came out, or that seemingly everyone who came wanted to know all about the data and interact with the work. Not sure, but it was really wonderful.
The best part was showing the different asspects of the etchings. The last minute addition of the flash light app brought it to a whole new level. I’ll have to install a rotating spotlight onto the frame to capture the movement and change.

If you weren’t there, you’re probably lost by now. The completed “Oxytocin”, my first scientific approach to sexuality, is etched on glass (yes, by hand) with a diamond tipped drill with the chemical formula for Oxytocin, C43H66N12O12S2, known as the bonding chemical. It is released during orgasm, sex, child birth and breast feeding, and also plays a roll in social memory. It is also drawn with the chromosome responsible for the neural receptor for Oxytocin and the year it was synthasized.

Tab framed this piece for me, as I was pretty terrified I would break it. Alongside the glass, he installed LED lights, which send focussed light through the glass, making it look like it’s drawn with light. If you turn off the side lighting, and instead, turn on the overhead spotlight, it casts shadows of the etched numbers onto the canvas behind it, making an inky image of the etching. There is no image on this canvas. This is just the shadow. Then, if you turn on both the spotlight and the side lighting, you get this cool 3D effect, with the light-numbers hovering over the shadows. See below:


This photo really isn’t good enough to show this effect. It’s better with real human eyes. I’ll put up a video soon so that you can get a better feel for this. Or, you can come to the Evertett Station Lofts’ Courtyard Party on August 2nd (First Thursday) and see it for yourself. We will be opening our art studio for the event. This is bigger news than a side note, but I’ll re-post about that later, with pretty images and everything.

Then there’s “Touch”, which I have been showing progress photos of. Good news! Angela Mengoa has given me permission to sell reproductions of my piece, inspired by her lovely photo! (They are now available in the store).

Here are a couple photos of the etching with and without framing. With the framing, the focused LEDs make this piece look like it’s drawn with light. It too is drawn with the chemical formula for Oxytocin.


I have more news to speak of, but apparently my body isn’t okay with all the work I’ve been doing lately and has decided that the only way I am going to sleep is for me to be sick. More news coming soon after full recuperation.
As a brief teaser before I fall down, coming up is the First Thursday Everett Station Lofts Courtyard show, which Tab and I will be participating in and Geek Girl Con is just a couple weeks away in Seattle, WA! (Yay, geeks!). I’ll also be posting photos and videos of the RAW artists event from last week at the Bossonava Ballroom.
Now for some mid day sleep.