Although many of you know me as the Shark Girl, at heart I really am a neuroscientist (just a shark neuroscientist. You know, normal). The brain absolutely fascinates me – particularly the brain of species we know so little about. No matter what an animal does or how it perceives its environment or reacts to it, it’s all controlled and modulated by the brain (in short: brains rock).
Sometimes, just thinking about the history of ideas can give me goosebumps. To imagine the things that were once societally accepted as fact, until someone’s crazy, outside-of-the-box idea challenged it. To be there on the day someone bravely raised their hand, amidst the sneers and rotten tomatoes lobbed there way, and said, “Err…come on guys.” There was a time when everyone accepted the world was flat. That the sick could be heeled by bleeding them. That smoking had no adverse health effects. That Donald Trump was an acceptable presidential candidate. Come on guys.
I always seem to have quite the adventure when I embark on a dressmaking project and this latest was no exception. This one in particular combined two of my favorite things: sewing and shark biology. Though the impetus is usually different, in general my dresses go from some sort of idea that’s been tickling at the back of my head for awhile until the perfect opportunity arises… Warning: Photo heavy post ahead!
Despite common misconceptions, I find that science and art go hand in hand. Truthfully, the more scientists I meet, the more artists I seem to meet. In my lab alone, we have a concert pianist, a painter, an amazing violinist, and even a student who is doing her PhD in an artistic laboratory, which is dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences. My husband is a software engineer, but is also an amazing singer and songwriter….