You find out a lot about someone.... on a bus

On my way home from work, I always take the same route. There are two sets of buses that pick up and drop off at the same location after I get off the Pink line so I don't have to wait long. However, I usually end up on my way home during the rush hour so the bus usually has standing room only. I'm fine with that, plus I don't want to wait any longer than I have to since it is approximately an hour commute. The bus that came up first was more packed than usual, like I mean me and 2 other people where the only ones that could get on. I thought it was a little funny, especially since being crowded in a bus bring out the best, and worst in people. There were plenty of complaints on why people were still trying to get on, there wasn't any room, couldn't get off, but seriously people? Everyone is trying to get home just like you. And if you are tourists, well welcome to Chicago on a weekday at 5:30 pm. Plan accordingly next time. All I could do is smile and pretend to not pay attention.

On the other hand, I found out some great things about people too. People sacrificed their seats for others, were very polite in this uncomfortable situation and I even was able to strike up a conversation with a woman that I was standing by (She was right by the driver so I was trying to give her some more space... yeah, it was that crowded.), and I think doing the same people watching that I was doing. Sure there were a few more complainers and the snobs that wouldn't move for the elderly, but I was impressed by others even more that were positive in the situation. Who would have thought that a bus ride could be an eye-opening experience? Life's little experiences and lessons happen when you least expect it.

Photo courtesy of mctavish.eu.

And the Beat Goes On

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago just replaced their old, yet cherished, walk-through heart with one that holds interactivity in a modern fashion. This new 14-foot steel wall hanging has the image of a human heart beating projected onto its surface. Place your hand on the pulse station's hand grips and the animated heart will match your pulse. More interactivity of this heart displays the inner anatomy and the electrical function that will keep education entertaining. This technological wonder is part of the new, 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit pinned "You! The Experience". Scheduled to open October 8th, the exhibit is designed to showcase for visitors how the human body works and how to make better decisions regarding health and mental well-being.

Tom Hennes, president of the New York design firm Thinc, is the new exhibit's primary designer. Furthermore, the "Inner Life of the Cell" creator David Bolinsky, and his team, XVIVO, were involved in creating this new exhibit. Wait, there is one more part: David Bolinski is visiting our program and in the main guest speaker in this year's Frank Armitage Lecture which is presented by the Biomedical Visualization to show new technologies in our field.

The UIC Biomedical Visualization program not only has ties with the new heart installation, but the old one as well. The 8-foot wide, plaster of paris heart built around a pillar was designed and created in our department by past faculty and others, including Professor A. Hooker Goodwin, the director of from the 1950s to 1976. Because of the construction, the walk-through heart had to be broken into smaller pieces. Some of the pieces have been given as mementos to the people or the families that have worked on the installation, so I'm assuming our department will have something somewhere. In our hallway, we have photographs of the construction.

I personally look forward to taking a look at this new exhibit when it is open to the public. I hope you do too!

Photo courtesy of msichicago.org. Heart in "You! The Experience" permanent exhibit. 2009. Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago, IL.

Oh Dura!

Here is my first illustration completed for Advanced Illustration for this past and long gone summer semester. This illustration depict the dural membranes and sinuses of the skull, which are vital to take waste products and extra fluid away from the brain (sinuses) as well as helping the brain stay put (membranes). I wanted to work with my new graphic style of line and transparencies in medical illustration. Needless to say, it was more difficult than I would have expected in the way that I had to practice my restraint in creating too much detail. Plus, the view is very different angle compared to typical anatomical illustrations and photographs, so finding references was a bit of an issue too. Osirix became an essential tool for obtaining an accurate view for the illustration. In the end I am happy about the end product and I like the clean lines and subdued color palette. It is a very different style than what you see in most anatomical illustrations today.

Dural Sinuses. Lindsey Pionek. Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. 2009.

I'm Back!

It is so unfortunate that I have to take my little "vacations" from blogging when the end of the semester is near. Instead, I work on assignments until the wee hours of the night non-stop and then wake up in the wee hours of the morning. Let me tell you, like always it was intense. I blame myself for some of it, but you know, that happens when I want to have a bit of a social life. Well, it is all done and over for now, for a week now (Sorry, I needed to get some R&R too!). In the next week you will be seeing what I did over the past summer session of 10 credits in 8 weeks. Again, it was well worth it. I received my grades yesterday and did another stellar job and I am very happy about it.

This last week was pretty good as well. I hung out with my cousin in Madison last Friday and Saturday as well as drunkenly calling a college friend to come out at bar close; she did, (I had a great time and I couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if I went to Madison instead of St. Norbert College for undergrad (no regrets at all though).) , went home for a couple days, went boating (My brother bought a pontoon. Yes, he is only almost 19!), did a ton of reading (I finally succumbed to the Twilight series.... addicting! Plus, it is a lot more fun when you can read for pleasure.), and visited a hometown friend. Plus, our final assignments weren't due until this past Monday, so I saved just a little bit to work on for the past weekend as well. Needless to say, I kept myself busy. And just like that, I'm back in Chicago and back to work. Though I still have another week of no classes, I will be updating a website, as well as working some more of my project research (I didn't quite do what I was supposed to and now I'm making up for my negligence.... ugh Lindsey!)

Now to reminiscing a few weeks back. The images that I have here are for my Surgical Orientation class. We had plenty of lectures in the class, mostly with speakers and surgical protocol; we even had a lecture/demo on surgical instruments by Autosuture working with foam intestines and stomachs that was really fun and interesting. The assignments that we had to do was research a surgical procedure and do a few sketches as well as illustrating 3 surgical instruments in different categories in pen and ink: I chose cutting, grasping, and clamping categories and used a digital pen and ink process. The surgical procedure is not finished or course, but it works for what we were asked. Initially, I wanted to do the Whipple procedure, but yeah... way too many steps. Therefore, I decided to do laser varicose vein removal instead since my I have family that are having issues with theirs. Take a look yourself!


Surgical Instruments. Lindsey Pionek. Adobe Illustrator. 2009. Surgical Procedure on Laser Varicose Vein Removal. Lindsey Pionek. Graphite and Adobe Photoshop. 2009.

Matthew Holt

A couple days ago we had a UIC Biomedical Visualization Alum, Matthew Holt, come in and give us a presentation of his lifestyle and work process. He is a freelance medical illustrator that lives in Wisconsin close to the Illinois border. He knew he wanted to do freelance right after grad school and he has been doing that ever since. From what he said, freelancing seems like quite the lifestyle; never knowing when a job will come around or busy for a bit and making a lot of money in a short time frame and then not having work for awhile, working from home, being there with your children, pursuing other passions, being your own boss, etc. It was interesting to hear about the life of a freelancer, but I would not want to do that unless I had to. I would be a stressful little person constantly; I'm the kind of person that likes more routine in my life than not (even though I'm always up for a surprise). At least he loves what he is doing and it makes me appreciate that there are all kinds of people that have to opportunity to find their own niche that works for them.

What amazed me with his talk is the speed that Matthew can finish an illustration. He showed us one of a profile of the face completely rendered and from start to finish he said it maybe took him two and a half hours! Of course, he didn't start out this fast, but still that just blows my mind! I guess it is all in practice and when you have been doing this for so many years and you have your technique down, it reduces the time. Take a look at his website for more work by Holt and to see what else he does when he isn't illustrating.

Photo courtesy of bodyrender.com. Small Joint Replacements. Matthew Holt. 2008. Photoshop.

One Thing After Another

My intention was to get this one out earlier, but I have been a busy person (not like that's anything out of the usual) with a lot of great and memorable experiences. It all started at the end of last week when our class finally had the opportunity to visit Abelson-Taylor, one of the top pharmaceutical ad agencies in the US right here in Chicago. Since this is exactly the direction that I would like my career to go, I was not going to miss it at all. To do this, I had to reschedule work that day which really wasn't a problem. That morning, however, was another story.

What should have been a 25 minute max commute, quickly turned into 45. The bus did not come the time it said it should have been on BusTracker and then waited for the Blue Line for 10 minutes and when it finally came, it was not going its normal speed at all. Awesome. I'm visiting a potential employer and I'm late. That just looks fantastic. After dashing up the stairs and elevator and sulking into the conference room where the visit was at the moment, I was pretty embarrassed. I do not like to be late; it stresses me out so I prevent it as much as I humanly cane. Gladly, it was okay and the visit was fantastic. It was more than I expected and was obviously pleasantly surprised. After the class left, I stayed after for awhile to get a deeper look at the company and meet some talented people with Vanessa Ruiz, who went through UIC's Biomedical Visualization program as well. It was a great experience that greatly validated my passion to go into this field and makes me very excited about the future.

The weekend was a entirely busy as I moved this weekend to a cute little place in the heart of Lincoln Park. My family came down to help, of course, even though they hate moving me. (Hopefully this will be the last time for awhile!) If you don't know anything about Lincoln Park, it is a great area; I am only a block away from the park, the conservatory and the zoo. However, parking is a bit of a problem, especially when you are moving with a full-size truck that takes up almost two parking spaces. That was an experience I could have done without! Surprisingly, we ended up getting one for the beast right in front of my building. At first, I was really disappointed in that apartment. Needless to say, there was no security deposit, therefore, there is not motivation for it to be cleaned. Also, some of the electrical was not the best shape. I was pretty upset that I moved in two weeks after my lease officially started and some of the stuff that was promised to me that it would be completed before I moved in still was not done. It is done now, so it wasn't too much of an issue (I think the building engineer could tell I was a little ticked when I officially moved in), but still pretty disappointing. After the fixing up and the cleaning, it has turned into quite the little pad I think!

After all of the non-homework responsibilities I have been back at the thing called "schooling". However, it has become a little overwhelming and I really need to catch up. (How many times have you heard that from me! Ha ha!) Like always, it will get done and done well. I work better under pressure and deadlines and they are coming up!

Photo courtesy of hi.baidu.com. Abelson Taylor Reception Space.

FAT!

Getting back into school from a great weekend was tough, but I think I have a handle on it now. I was doing a bit of research online pertaining to my subject for my Flash interactive that I have to do for class. At the moment, we just have to create a little outline of what we want to include and how we are envisioning the layout. I am planning on doing mine about the different stages of obesity, particular health hazards, and BMI. While researching, I was thinking about adding the anatomy of an adipocyte, an individual fat cell, and I ended up finding this little guy. Though I have seen these critter, creatures, whatever you want to call them, I thought I would present them anyway since I didn't know that cells were included.

The stuffed cell is from a brand named Giant Microbes by Drew Oliver. Drew Oliver was initially a lawyer educated at the University of Chicago Law School, but creating cute stuffed microbes and cells and being his own boss was more up his alley. Started in 2002 to be an education tool for children, his small business attracted national attention a year later and the rest is history. The Giant Microbes collection contains Health (microbes like the kind that cause the common cold and the flu as well as cells), Critters (such as dust mites), Calamites, (such as those that are responsible for black death and ebola), and Exotics. Each stuffed microscopic 'critter' comes with information and illustrations about the real thing it is symbolizing. Get one for your sick friend or family member (they have a new Swine Flu one as well!), or as a little reminder to keep that waistline!

Photo courtesy of giantmicrobes.com. Giant Microbes Fat Cell (Adipocyte).

Independence Day in Chicago

I have to say that this Independence Day was one of my best. My parents came down not only to bring me some of my huge packing bins, but to spend some time in the city and enjoy the festivities. I was so excited that I started planning right away for their visit, since they really haven't seen much of the city other than what is close to my apartment. I also planned and booked a little surprise for them by booking a Fireworks and Architecture Cruise from Shoreline. The day after I booked it, Mom gives me a call mentioning the cruises. She's not supposed to be looking into that stuff! I always do the planning when they come down! Crap! I quickly say that I saw that and called all of the places and they are all booked; the websites must not be updated yet. Being as stubborn as she is (that's where I get it) I was almost expecting her to book them anyway and not listen to me. I was just hoping she would just drop it and not look further the rest of the week.

Of course, when I planned everything initially, it was supposed to be a beautiful, warm and sunny day, but that's not what it turned out to be..... stupid weather. That didn't stop us though! Even through the annoying drizzle and rain, we started our day of fun at the Taste of Chicago. At least we had umbrellas, but we still ended up pretty soaked. All I was thinking through the whole time was "Please let the rain stop before 7 pm" while convincing my parents that we had to be to Navy Pier to get nice seats for the fireworks. While we were waiting at the bus stop to get to Navy Pier, one bus just completely flies by. AWESOME! We need to be there in 10 minutes to get the tickets before we board! Thankfully, another one came (and stopped) soon after. For some reason, the Ogden Slip dock where we had to be is not well-known or really well-documented on its location, so I'm still scrambling while my parents are probably wondering why the hell I was spazzing. We finally got there with enough time to spare and I announced my surprise. Mom was tickled pink and was so excited, and I think Dad was too (he tends to control his emotions more than Mom).

I recommend the Fireworks and Architecture Cruise to anyone. Considering being a Chicago resident, I learned a lot about the buildings that make Chicago the place it is. It was interesting to hear the thoughts behind the designs as well and all the little details that are often looked over. The cash bar was pretty awesome too being cheap (to Chicago standards) and high quality liquors. Needless to say we took advantage of that. Lastly, the best place to view fireworks are on a boat, hands down.

Afterwards, we headed to Navy Pier and ate and drank at Charlie's Ale House since we had cravings for a good burger. Yum! When we were done there and ready to head back we took public transportation back.... I was a little squeamish since it was at night and unfortunately the most interesting people come out of the cracks later at night. We did it anyway, I mean there were three of us so it wasn't a big issue. But when we were waiting for the Blue line with my parents sitting and me facing them and not paying attention, a man approached us, and being startled, I just automatically turn around and put my hand on my purse that was on my shoulder. I didn't notice what I did until the man kept on telling me that I was "insulting" because I did that. I'm sorry, but I would have done that to anyone, any time of day, anywhere in Chicago. He continues on calling me insulting, but then starts to ask us for money. Again, I'm sorry, but you think that I am going to give you money after you were just rude to me? Don't think so! I apologized, but he wasn't taking it. So he leaves, but then a minute later he starts on his rant at my from a distance. Great. "Welcome to the El at night Mom and Dad, this is why I don't travel by myself at night," I say. It was fine, but it still bothers me a bit. Whatever, I'm a young female in Chicago, what do you expect me to do with my purse?

Other than that little situation, the time with my parents was excellent. I am so happy that they had a great time and I was able to surprise them. They deserve it since they have done so much for me. They are the best parents I could ask for.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com. July 4 -- Fireworks Over Chicago, Guy Flaneur, 2008.

Panoramic Views To Say the Least

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This week has been full of ups and downs for me. I obtained by keys for my new place yesterday, and I have been attempting doing projects for my classes, however, that has not been easy. I had to re-open 3Ds Max again to do a couple touch-ups to a piece that I am submitting to the AMI Salon, which, of course, did not come easy. After failing at working on that yesterday, I moved to using Osirix (mind you, I haven't used it for at least 8 months) to find a skull and position it in a way that will help me with accurately illustrating the skull at downward lateral view. Couldn't get that to work for me either. I threw in the towel and watched Flash CS4 tutorials on Lynda.com. Well, at least I attempted at doing something.

Today has been a better day and I have been able to work on both of the projects that I could not for the life of me get to work yesterday. At least they are kind of working today. Things are looking up for me, at least hopefully.

Something else has people looking up (and down) in Chicago. Just in time for the America's birthday, the Sears (soon to be named Willis) Tower has added a new addition.... glass. More glass you say? Yes, glass that you can stand on 103 floors up. The Sears Tower added "The Ledge", a glass balcony to their Skydeck so visitors can get a panormic (yes panORMic) view of the city out of America's tallest skyscraper. Though I am a fan of the Hancock Observatory, I may have to take a look at this new addition!

Video courtesy of The Today Show on MSNBC.com. Sears Tower Opens Glass Observation Deck.

My Inspirations

Oh man, I have been a pile and I'm not quite sure why. Sure, I have been doing research on all of my projects I have to do and working, but I just cannot get myself to get any farther than that. I can always find plenty of other things to do/have to be done. I don't know, but I need to get out of this little funk soon. It will come back to me though, I will make sure of that.

One of our assignments for class was to find artists that inspire us to encourage our own style to come out in our illustrations. Here are mine:

Photo courtesy of drawingsofleonardo.org. View of a Skull. Leonardo da Vinci. c. 1489.

Leonard da Vinci
The Renaissance man, Leonardo was always not only painting and sketching, but discovering and inventing. His painting are beautiful and finished, but I always was more fascinated with his sketches. Even though they are just sketches, the detail and line work in them just blow me away.

Photo courtesy of ghostco.org. A Tree With Roots. Matthew Woodson.

Matthew Woodson
A local Chicago artist that graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, Matt Woodson has a more graphic style. His use of line, blocks of color and patterns gives the illustrations movement and whimsy, yet have a strong sense of realism. He also uses some inner anatomy in some of his works.

Photo courtesy of muchafoundation.org. Summer 1896. Alphonse Mucha. Decorative panel. 1896.

Alphose Mucha
Always being a fan of Art Nouveau, Alphose Mucha has been one of my favorites for years. His decorative style, muted color palette and use of outline is very well done. Simple, yet ornate.

Photo courtesy of iamgabz.com. Personal project inspired by Miami Ink episode. Grzegroz Domaradzki. Pencil and Photoshop. 2009.

Grzegroz Domaradzki
Also known as Gabz, Grzegroz is a polish freelancer who creates paintings, commercial art, graphic design and storyboards. His style varies depending on what he is working on which can sometimes be quite a feat. My personal favorites are his drawings and illustrations. Once again, his use of line is what gets me as well as the heightened contrast. He also uses anatomy in many of this drawings.

I hope that I will be able to take something from these amazing artists and be able to create my own style to put towards my anatomical art.