03.08.2011 update

Escherichia coli TOP10 from some recent work in the lab.

Wow. Long time since I have dwelled in this particular cyber space.  A lot has happened in the world since my last post on this site in January 2010.  Because the focus of this site is supposed to be the output of my science and artistic disciplines, I’ll try to keep the scope to just those things for now.

The big news from the Savin Lab here at the UA was a few publications (including my first as an author!) this past fall regarding our work on antibiotic resistance patterns and broad-host-range plasmids in streams that receive effluent from wastewater treatment plants.  If you have access to the either of these journals through a library system or physically, check them out:

Akiyama, T., K.L. Asfahl and M.C. Savin. 2010. Broad-host-range plasmids in treated wastewater effluent and receiving streams. Journal of Environmental Quality 39:2211-2215.

…and more of Tats thesis work that I spent some time on:

Akiyama, T. and M.C. Savin. 2010. Populations of antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria change rapidly in a wastewater effluent dominated stream. Science of the Total Environment 408:6192-6201.

In future posts I plan to provide a sort of shortened review for papers like this to provide you with a way to get the main idea without having to read the whole thing (for those that aren’t into reading primary literature).  I’m also looking into whether or not I am legally entitled to provide PDFs of these papers on this site.  I think that the current status quo of the big scientific journals that keeps much of the articles behind a wall that you have to pay (or have access through an institutional library) to have access to is quite unfortunate in the way it slows the dissemination of valuable information.

Laboratory work has certainly taken priority over artistic output for me lately, but the seeds of change have been planted.  Updates from the drawing table are coming, but for those you will just have to wait.

welcome to 2010

< insert cliché introductory phrase, new year’s resolutions and other silly formalities >

In the last three weeks I’ve been a lab microbiologist, a mover, and a scribble artist… driven ~2260 miles, explored a small tract of Wisconsin, and now I’m back to being a lab… -ist.  I’ve moved to a new apartment with great natural light and should probably be marvelously productive at the drawing table.  I say “should” because I’ve really just been sliding from room to room with my socks on the hardwood floors.  This really is more fun than I can convey here.

I did manage to get a piece done for the Blue Masquerade invitational show for the Art Amiss New Years Eve party.  For the last several years, the Art Amiss kids, a local arts collective, have invited a handful of folks to make a 12 inch by 12 inch piece of art to be auctioned off at their New Years Eve extravaganza.  This is my second year in a row to participate, but unfortunately this time I had to miss the big show since I was up in Wisconsin.  They supplied the canvas (what’s “canvas”?!) and I supplied the meanderings.

This year’s 12 x 12:

And just for fun, I dug up an image of the 12 x 12 I did for last year’s Blue Masquerade, long before the days of this blog:

On a different tip, those in the know and willing to venture out into single-digit temperatures enjoyed a great evening of entertainment this past Thursday, January 7th, at ddp Gallery in downtown Fayetteville.  The event was the artist’s reception for the first salon-style exhibition at ddp Gallery, pragmatically dubbed “Salon I”.  A handful of small pieces by yours truly that were on display at the Small Works 2009 (also) show are now sharing the white walls of ddp Gallery with more than a dozen artists’ work in true salon style.  Here’s a brief glimpse of the reception, replete with plenty of warm-and-fuzzies:

I promise-promise that there is new work coming, along with a couple of exhibitions later on this winter/spring.  Stay tuned…

Ok bye.

update: Small Works 2009 @ ddp Gallery

Last Thursday was quite the adventure, and the opening reception for Small Works 2009 at ddp Gallery was a fine exclamation point for the day’s prose.  My small works on birch plywood are enjoying some great wall-time at ddp, shared with fantastic works from Duane Gardner, Laura Terry, Megan Chapman, Jeff Meadows, Mark Traughber, and several others.  A few of my works walked away last Thursday, but there are still 10 more pieces that are ripe for the picking.  Small Works 2009, Kyle Asfahl and others, available only at ddp Gallery, 7 East Mountain Street in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas.  The exhibition will remain up until December 30th.

Images of just a few of my little paintings that are still hanging on the wall at ddp Gallery:

random mutation event

conjugation

lipid content

plasmid #3

untitled

Bye for now.

Small Works 2009 @ ddp Gallery

A little while back Dede of ddp Gallery said to me, “Hey man.  Would you be interested in making some small works for my group show in December?”

I pondered for a moment, “Sure.  Sounds like fun.”

Dede elaborated, “So, I think you should make little paintings of your bacteria and such.”

Again, I pondered for a moment, “Hhhmmm.  Cool.”

So, maybe those weren’t the exact words, but that was the jest of it.  Really dynamic conversation, but you get the idea?

The opening reception for Small Works 2009 will be at ddp Gallery, 7 East Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas, from 5 – 8pm this Thursday, December 3rd.  The show will a have a range of work for sale, from functional ceramics to photography and paintings, with an emphasis on a larger volume of smaller sized work to keep the prices really affordable for this particular time of year.  The participating artists are: Duane Gardner, Megan Chapman, Cindy Arsaga, Katie Harper, Alison Carter, Maeve Courteau, Jennifer Pease, Jeff Meadows, Laura Terry, Don House, Mark Traughber and yours truly.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on a set of small paintings of bacteria and other microbial stuff for the Small Works show.  There’s a handful of rectangular pieces, as well as some round ones, all on birch plywood with arcylic and pens.  It has definitely been an adventure as I am still not totally comfortable working with the smaller pieces of wood I have been painting on lately, let alone working on 10+ of them simultaneously.  But it has been fun.  I just finished documenting all of them and will be taking them down to the gallery tomorrow.  Here’s a little peek:

See you there on Thursday.

Bye for now.

as of late…

The leaves have all fallen and I am beginning to see the signs of winter in the faces and places I see and visit everyday.  The gradually cooler weather makes it easier to stay inside and work.  I’ve been busy both in the laboratory and at the drawing table.  Small works for ddp’s December show are coming… stay tuned…

Bye for now.

Art Amiss 11

Art Amiss 11 kicks off at 7pm this Wednesday at the Dickson Street Theatre in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas.  I’ve heard that in addition to the visual/sculptural elements, there will also be chamber music, a fashion show on roller skates, poetry readings next door, a dance-party afterwards, and who knows what else… These events always seem to produce an awesome mash-up of people.  Hope to see you there.

Oh, and look for a triptych painting by yours truly at the show…

update: PROJECT FEED LOCAL

Please allow my sympathy for you if you missed the opening night of ddp Gallery‘s “PROJECT FEED LOCAL” yesterday evening.  The exhibition was a heavy-hitter and the crowd of smiling faces lasted until almost 9:30 pm when Dede (ddp Gallery owner) had to practically kick everyone out.  In the first night, the exhibition raised $1400+ in funds and 7000+ lbs of food for the NW Arkansas Food Bank.  A fair number of mugs sold to benefit the Fayetteville Independant Business Alliance, as well.  BUT THE SHOW IS UP UNTIL NOVEMBER 21st, and there are still plenty of great grocery-bag-turned-art pieces and Keep Fayetteville Funky mugs left, so head down to ddp Gallery to take advantage of this opportunity to own some fantastic art (for cheap$!) and contribute to good causes in NW Arkansas at the same time.

The crowd was spilling out onto Mountain Street all evening.  It was great!  Here’s a snap:

And a boatload of hungry artists and their chums at Damgoode after the gallery doors were closed:

Bye for now.