Each year, I circle one weekend on my calendar without fail—Paint Louis. It’s a highlight not only for me but for artists and art lovers around the world.

Paint Louis stands as the largest graffiti festival on the planet, transforming the St. Louis flood wall into a massive canvas that stretches nearly two miles. Recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest continuous mural in existence, the wall becomes a living gallery of color, movement, and collaboration.

This year’s gathering brought together nearly 500 artists from across the globe—including visitors from Germany, Canada, and Australia—all eager to contribute their voice to this sprawling masterpiece. What makes Paint Louis so remarkable is how it elevates street art beyond aesthetics; it’s a shared language of resistance, beauty, and belonging. These walls tell stories of identity, community, and creativity, making art something everyone can experience, not just those who walk through gallery doors.

Among the many standout sections, I was especially drawn to the panels painted by the all-women collectives, a vivid reminder of the growing visibility and impact of women in street art, a space long dominated by men.

There’s something electrifying about seeing artists from all walks of life transform the gray expanse of the flood wall into a living conversation. Paint Louis captures what’s best about art itself: collaboration, courage, and the freedom to create. I’m already counting down the days until next year’s wall comes alive again.

A few months ago, I proposed a community-inspired art project to bring my science illustration workshop at the Missouri Botanical Garden to a meaningful and creative close.

To celebrate community and the joy of collaboration, I envisioned a special art project for my class—a co-created scientific illustration centered on the anatomy and life cycle of one of Missouri’s native plants, the purple coneflower (pollinators included!). ❀°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🐝

Each participant contributed at least one piece: one drew the seeds, another painted the roots, while others added petals, leaves, and close-ups of the flower’s structure, all coming together as a beautiful, classically rendered scientific illustration plate (poster). The poster both visually represents and disseminates knowledge about the purple coneflower.

Together, we created something beautiful and greater than ourselves—a reminder of the power of creativity and connection.

Last week, I had the privilege of co-presenting with Debora Nodelman (pictured) at our symposium, Artist as Scientist, Scientist as Artist: Research, Collage, & The Pursuit of Knowledge, at Kolaj Fest New Orleans 2025.

Debora, a respected figure in the art-science community, holds a PhD in Education and identifies as an a/r/tographer—an Artist, Researcher, and Teacher. We’re on remarkably similar paths with our work, and it was an honor to share the stage with her. Her scholarship appears in journals and edited volumes on multicultural education, visual arts, research/er development, and arts-based methodologies.

At the festival, I also led my collaborative project, The Global Table: Tell Me While We Eat. 🍽️

What happens when strangers sit down to collage their dinner plates and talk? A shared table becomes a living canvas for dialogue, memory, and cultural exchange—rooted in plant pigments, handmade trading cards, family recipes, and food traditions.

My project asked: How can food, art, and storytelling build empathy and ignite collective action?

We explored how everyday rituals—like meals—can spark deeper connections, inviting diverse voices into conversation around identity, culture, and science. My goal: to reimagine the dinner table as a space for reflection, healing, and transformation.

Because science explains the world.

Art makes us feel it.

When you merge the two, you don’t just share knowledge—you ignite curiosity, emotion, and change. That’s why I design workshops, illustrations, and projects that blur the boundaries between art and science. Climate change, biodiversity, and the microscopic worlds around us aren’t just topics for the lab—they’re stories we can see, feel, and act on. 🔬🎨

What happens when we stop asking “Is it art or science?” and start asking “What can they become together?”

Let’s build more tables—and gather around them.

I had the absolute pleasure of returning to Dr. Katie Sanders, Ph.D. class at North Carolina State University to once again explore the powerful intersection of art and food systems communication—and wow, what an amazing experience it was! 🎨🌾

In my guest lecture, “Feeding the Imagination: Exploring the Fusion of Art & Communication in Food Systems,” we dug into how art isn’t just an aesthetic choice—it’s a vital tool for making complex information more relatable, emotional, and impactful.

As part of my lecture, I shared the work of Foodmasku (Antonius Oki Wiriadjaja)—a multimedia artist who turns meals into wearable masks to explore identity, trauma, and cultural storytelling. His art, born during the pandemic, blends humor, food, and performance to spark deeper conversations.

From storytelling and cultural representation to sparking meaningful conversations and action, art helps breathe life into food systems work that might otherwise get buried in charts and jargon.

A huge thanks to Dr. Sanders for inviting me back and for cultivating a space where creative thinking is not only welcomed, but celebrated. Here’s to continuing to bridge the worlds of science, food, and art to build a more sustainable, inclusive future!

Where would I be without the help of others? At times, I felt very lost along my journey, especially in being a first generation college student taking the academic route.

So what did I do? I reached out to other people who were doing what I thought it was I wanted to do. These were my mentors. I cannot emphasize how much these individuals have been critical in my journey, serving myriad roles from personal cheerleaders to knowledge-rich teachers.

One of my mentors who ironically considers me a mentor to her (ha!), Dr. Cami Ryan, PhD, encouraged me to connect with one of her contacts at the American Chemical Society, where I learned about their call for DEI cover art. One year later, I submitted a painting. And guess what? My painting made the cover!

This particular painting was inspired by my good friend Nakia Wise who has a profound love for science and a lifelong dream of exploring the wonders of discovery. Nakia’s story is a testament to the importance of representation and mentorship in unlocking potential and breaking down barriers for those who often feel unseen in these fields.

I am deeply grateful for the incredible people who have supported, inspired, and guided me along my journey.

You can read my full editorial here: https://lnkd.in/giGpqJAd

**The ACS Publications Journal Cover Art Program is an initiative aimed at celebrating and representing how scientists from diverse upbringings, cultures, perspectives, and experiences thrive. This program is open to all scientists irrespective of their background and aligns with the ACS Strategic Plan 2025-2029, which emphasizes the importance of Inclusion and Belonging in advancing scientific knowledge and fostering a global community.**