LECTURE: Art & Science Of The Marine Micro World

Sunday, December 8

3 pm

Carla Stehr
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, retired

The Fort Worden Chapel

Admission: $5

(students, teachers FREE)

Carla Stehr’s artist statement: I use cloth, paint and stitch to express my fascination with aquatic life and natural patterns. My work is inspired by a life-long obsession for exploring tide pools and a career as a Marine Biologist where I had the opportunity to photograph amazingly beautiful aquatic creatures with a scanning electron microscope.

I am especially drawn to organisms that may be hard to see, like the tiny Moonglow Anemone partially buried in sand, or single-celled plants such as diatoms that are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. Many of my pieces are influenced by microscopic images I photographed as a scientist.

The textural properties of fabric and stitch lend an organic quality that I am compelled to use in my art. I may use overlapping layers of silk organza to suggest transparent structures such as anemone tentacles. Or, to suggest the multi-layered cell walls of diatoms, I may use multiple layers of fabric, creating openings in the top layers to reveal textured patterns below. My intention is to illustrate features of plants, animals or natural patterns that might be unnoticed without looking really close.

More info about the lecturer: https://carlastehr.com/


This is the third installment of The Future of Oceans lecture series.

This event is offered with generous support by the Darrow Family.

Assisted Listening Devices available