Friday, December 23rd, 2016

Merry Holidays!

“…when all through the house, ~~not~~ a creature was stirring, ~~not~~ even a mouse.”

Are the stockings hung by the chimney? Are the children nestled all snug in their beds? There’s always a lot of hustle and bustle this time of year. I’ve been busy making most of my gifts and neatly wrapping presents for kids in the family. I’ve been busy with a lot of little things in preparation for the holidays. Regardless of any religious or spiritual beliefs, stepping outside of it all, what I am thankful for is nothing that can be bought. I could easily step away from this place and walk away with nothing yet everything all at the same time. The perfect example to illustrate my point here is actually from this very morning, at the A.M. hour of 4:30…

As I had “just settled down for a long winter’s nap,” I woke up to a rustling. Of course, I knew no Saints were visiting me early or anything like that. Instead, I had captured……the mouse! Yes, this old place of mine has mice off and on and I don’t believe in deathtraps for them. After all, they, too, are living creatures just like us. It was months ago that I called my dad up to explain my latest predicament, not only did we have mice, we had really smart mice. My dad is also an artist, though he probably wouldn’t admit it, but as a result of such, he is a very creative inventor. As a Christmas gift, he crafted and shipped several variations of safe traps for our “educated mice.” What can I say? With a little parmesan cheese, they have been quite a success. This A.M. hour I collected yet another mouse friend and transferred the little beating heart over to “Teapot Hotel” (my cozy teapot equipped with bedding for safe keeping and comfort through the night). I named him John Maus after one of my favorite musicians (my former two mouse-mates were Lee and Roy …”Bad, bad, Lee Roy Mouse, baddest mouse in the whole dang house…”).

At the end of it all, I wish my mouse-mates well in such a big, big world, and I do have a point here with my story…that life is precious. Outside of chemicals, happiness can be a state of mind rather than a state of being. Yes, the front porch is falling off of the apartment, yes, the cabinets and drawers might be broken, and yes, on occasion, I have mice tunneling into my humble abode, but I could easily leave all of my material items behind and still walk away with everything I would ever need – myself, my life, my family, and my friends.

Regardless of what you choose to celebrate or not, celebrate life and be thankful for the small things, even the little house mice that might be running around and ruling your place at night.

Wishing Merry Holidays to you all!
♥ Emily A. Dustman
Founder & Creative Director

Sunday, December 18th, 2016

Art + Science = Innovation

Know of anyone doing innovative work? Want to be in an Art + Science Magazine? We are currently seeking work for Issue #2!

Consider sharing E-Squared Magazine with someone or sending us your very own work! Check out our General Guidelines and see if your work is a good fit.

Feel free to e-mail us with any questions you may have: info@esquaredmagazine.com

Friday, December 16th, 2016

Snowflakes Circa 1885

It’s getting to be that time of year again when snow crystals flurry through the sky and fill the streets. Have you ever taken a moment to look at a snowflake closely? Well, if you haven’t, do it – they are so incredibly intricate and beautiful.

One of the first known individuals to document snowflakes was Wilson Bentley in 1885. His medium? Photography. What a perfect blend of science + art, documentation and education. But how did he do it? Quite simply, on black velvet under a microscope with a camera attachment.

The process is actually easy and you can do it yourself without the aid of any fancy equipment. Below you will find two variations of how to do this yourself.

Method A: It’s easy peasy lemon squeezy

Find a dark surface (paper, fabric, etc.)
Let your chosen medium acclimate to the ambient temperature
Look at and/or photograph the beauties with a macro lens

Method B: More like memorizing how to spell poly methyl methacrylate

Acquire a piece of clear acetate & crystal clear acrylic coating
Place both items in the freezer for 30 minutes or place outdoors (if it’s cold enough)
After 30 minutes has elapsed, spray the acetate with the acrylic coating
Using the acetate, collect the falling snowflakes
Spray once more with the acrylic coating, allowing to dry for at least 15 minutes (snowflakes will melt but you will be left with their impressions)
Observe snowflakes with a magnifying glass

If you’re feeling really ambitious, key out your snowflakes with Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes. We own a copy and it’s quite informative.

“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty.” – Wilson Bentley

Monday, December 12th, 2016

Art + Invention

Texas-based artist Margaret Craig transforms ocean reef trash from around the world into life-like sculptures. Science has been a huge spring board for Margaret Craig’s work. In her approach, she explores both positive and negative impacts of ocean trash. She reminds us that nature is always an opportunist. Her plastics become food for thought and not a danger to ecosystems by being mistaken for food. As an artist, Craig is also beholden to science in the creation of her work. She uses chemical coatings to mimic natural processes, and contemporary material developed by chemists to print her works. Much of the scientific method goes into discovering a new effect she can repeat and use.

Through this juxtaposition of artwork from plastic waste and destruction brought about by plastic, Margaret Craig makes a statement regarding mindfulness for the environment. She is often involved in trade portfolios and exhibits locally, nationally, and internationally. Craig invented Tar Gel Pressless Etching and has demonstrated this and other techniques at national conferences.

Currently, she has an informative video up about her invented process. You can check it out here.

Tuesday, December 6th, 2016

Oh, the Holidaze

Header Image: Josef Reischig

For me, December is sort of analogous to cellular division. Just like the process of creating new cells, it is a time for generating new ideas. While I am always working on all things E-Squared, I do receive a small gift, a short break from writing or editing images for the current issue. So, you may wonder, what do I do with this down time? Here’s a short list and gallery of images to show you a little bit of what I’ve been up to lately (in no particular order):

Addressing holiday cards. I’m pretty stoked about the global moon stamps for our international friends
Submitting my artwork to galleries (yes, believe it or not, I’m still an active artist)
Reading philosophical works & poetry
Baking chocolate chip cookies (and, eating them like snails)
Working on writing my novel
Drinking coffee + eating donuts
Finalizing the semester / calculating final grades for college students
Making home made gifts (like hot cocoa & magnets) and then joyfully wrapping them :o)
Having fun with experimental photography
Preparing for the cold days to come. I do believe that the winter months are for hot cocoa and progressive reading…(hint, hint).

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016

Questioning Societal Taboos w. Cristin Millet

“My intention as an artist is to evoke contemplation on how we perceive, stereotype, and stigmatize the female body and to question societal taboos surrounding sexuality and reproduction.”

Cristin Millett is an artist whose research focuses on medical history, specifically the human reproductive system. In response to her research, she creates objects and installations that give insight into societal attitudes about the female body.

Millet approaches her work using a very logical and systematic method, first grounding herself in research on the history of medicine. An extension of her research includes the context where anatomy is studied – historical anatomical and surgical theaters. Millet’s architectural environments metaphorically reference the interior and exterior of the body. When entering one of her rooms, the viewer enters the body and their role as spectator shifts to that of the spectacle.

Cristin Millet’s installations represent an intersection of scientific ideas and contemporary aesthetic observations, providing insight into prevalent societal attitudes surrounding the female form. Millett exhibits her work in national and international solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been positively reviewed by Lenny Campello and she has been published in journals such as Sculpture, Art Papers, and Chicago Tribune.

See her full spread in E-Squared here.

Saturday, November 12th, 2016

On Future Jazz

Photo Credits: http://www.djsets.co.uk/ & E. Dustman

This evening I went to see electronic composer Nicolas Jaar at the Columbus Theater. Jaar isn’t just a sound artist though, he is a visual artist, coupling his performances with a synchronized light show. Utilizing the theater as his canvas, lights flashed and moved in correlation with musical transitions.

As for Jaar’s sound, I like to refer to it as future jazz. His compositions are multi-layered and hypnotic…altogether, extra-dimensional. Tonight, the historical Columbus theater only further amplified his sound, and I believe Jaar took full advantage of this. His distorted, looping rifts and rhythms played well into creating a very unique architecture of sound.

For the majority of the time, Jaar was enveloped by darkness. It seemed as though the show wasn’t really about watching someone on stage, rather, it was about having a sensory experience. To my surprise, about half-way through, he pulled out a saxophone and played it. Interestingly enough, he amplified the saxophone through an effects processor, which generated quite a unique sound. In comparing his studio albums to his live shows, you will soon realize that just like jazz, Jaar relies heavily on experimentation + improv. As a result of this, each concert becomes an exclusive experience of its own.

Thursday, October 20th, 2016

Issue #1

PURCHASE ISSUE #1 — $35.00 USD SOLD OUT!

Issue #1: Letter from the Founder

Looking through pink rimmed glasses of an eleven-year old girl one would see shelves overflowing with slides, beakers, field guides, creatures in aquaria, clay, brushes, paint, and sketchbooks of the observed and imagined. You would see art and science, a laboratory and an art studio. What you would not see are the countless hours I spent there by myself getting lost in bewilderment, experiments, and new discoveries.

From a very young age, I have been consumed by the micro and macro-world that very obviously surrounded me. I spent sunrise to sunset exploring creeks, collecting critters, and experimenting. I had collections of insects, bones, rocks, and plants; illustrations of flora, fauna, and paintings of turtle plastron patterns for identification purposes; I had written various nature-based fictional stories like that of the colony of flower people residing in Jack-in-the-pulpits; the list is pretty ongoing.

If I was not outside, I was indoors in my laboratory. I vividly recall the day that I decided to look at pond water under my microscope. With transfer pipette in hand, I drew water up from the bottom of the aquarium and deposited the unknowingly microorganism filled drops into the depression on the glass slide. Peering into the objective of my microscope, I observed my very first cladocerans, the first being Daphnia pulex followed by hundreds of tiny other microorganisms to be identified and drawn. To my eyes, they were all dancing. That moment was magical – I was absolutely astounded by this world I did not even know existed.

This is just a small glimpse into my childhood and life trajectory, but I will tell you that I have not stopped and for as long as I am walking this pale blue dot while we are all slowly being consumed by the sun, I will continue on this adventure. No matter my age or life experiences, I still carry with me an innate ability to see beauty in the natural world and I constantly have a never-ending sense of wonderment with it all.

As a scientist, an artist, and a continual dreamer, E-Squared Magazine was born in the Spring of 2016 but as one can see, it was truly conceived decades prior, undergoing an extensive metamorphosis through stages of juvenility to finely groomed maturity. From my very own life experiences, I can state with confidence that the arts and sciences do go hand in hand – they are integral to one another, and give power and richness to each other. It is my belief that the future will be reliant on this fusion of art + science.

Although the path has been arduous at times, I am ever-so-pleased to present to you E-Squared Magazine fresh from the chrysalis. E-Squared is a modern & conceptual magazine that fuses art + science with the hopes of sparking real social and cultural change. My partner and I are filled with gratitude for the individuals in this magazine, their work, and also for the support that we have received in this endeavor. We hope that you enjoy Issue #1 and subsequent issues in the future.

“When you’re not looking, cladocerans are dancing.”

Emily A. Dustman

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

Proof’s on the Table

Today’s a big day. Today marks the arrival of our first palette of Issue #1. We are so over the moon elated and it is still very surreal for us. It was just a month ago on September 26th. that we unwrapped our proof copy of Issue #1 and now the finely groomed version is here. If you haven’t heard yet and are curious, Issue #1 features Greg A. Dunn and has cover art by Julia deVille (front c.) and Brigitte Amarger (back c.). So far, it is making quite a presence, taking up our entire E-Squared Studio!

A lot of hard work went into making Issue #1 what it is from simply writing artist bio’s to the uphill battle in finding a printer. We understand so much more now than we ever did about all that goes into publishing! Regardless of the back story to get us to this point, we hope you enjoy Issue #1 upon its arrival at your doorstep. A big, big thanks to everyone who believed in and supported us. We’re in physical print, guys!

Tuesday, October 4th, 2016

Awareness Through Art

This summer my friend approached me about taking a trip to Zion National Park. How could I resist? Sometimes, you just need a little escape. I have been so busy with the magazine that September crept up on me pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I was boarding a jet plane and my friend and I were in a rental car together headed to Springdale, Utah. I had no idea what I was really in for either…

Once we arrived in Zion, we took some time to settle in and explored the area for the day. Our first hike in light rain was quite magical as we observed the small waterfalls of Emerald Pools. The next day we hiked Angels Landing where we momentarily fretted for our lives with hands death gripped to chains as we walked on what seemed to be no greater in width than that of a razor’s edge. And, the next day? The Narrows, where 2 miles in, it poured down rain and everyone started a mass exodus. Our adrenaline surely broke some records at Zion National Park.

Overall, my experience at Zion was absolutely breathtaking with majestic sandstone cliffs extending upwards through the endless atmosphere. I would definitely rank it as one of my top trips in my history of trips and a must see for anyone that has not yet been.

Outside of a visual aesthetic, Zion made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me reflect, but most importantly, Zion made me think. Despite being on a “break,” I can’t help but listen, learn, and apply. While riding the shuttle, I listened to the looping recording that was playing at blare volume (that everyone else was somehow tuning out). I learned about the artist + scientist Howard Russell Butler. Butler obtained a degree in Science in 1876 and nearly a decade later devoted himself entirely to painting. He painted numerous wonders, including many of those at Zion. His work was a historic documentation as well as visual depiction, exposing a great majority of people to places they were unaware even existed and unable to travel to at the time. Just as it very much was then, his works are a symbol of preservation for these natural wonders.

Art is important to us. Art has always been important to me. So has nature. And, so it can be through art that we harness awareness for preservation of our natural world. A greater understanding of what it means to us and our undeniable connection to it. As the two of us hiked and canyoneered, we shared our stories. We clung to each other when we were frightened. We further strengthened our bond as humans beings existing in an ever increasingly complicated world. It is at this critical time that art becomes even more necessary. So does science. And, the collaboration between the two is of utmost importance…for humans…for our future existence as a species. Over the past year, I have changed a lot and, with it, my idea of the purpose of art has also changed. So I will ask you a question…what purpose does art serve to you? Is your art progressive?