The Belly

A co-worker at the water cooler yesterday suddenly blurted out, "Wait--are you expecting?" And yes indeed, this little baby girl's due date is just one month away now. Every time I get out of bed or stand up from a chair, I have to re-learn how my body is moving nowadays; and every time I pass by a mirror, I try to wrap my head around how differently-shaped I am as well.

About a month ago, I started doing quick sketches of myself. You can see that in the first sketch, I am completely flabbergasted and confused by what I look like. As the series continues, I think I've been getting a better grip on these big rounded shapes...

It's an amusing exercise, and since the camera is packed somewhere in the go-to-hospital bags, these sketches might end up being the most convenient way to document these last few weeks!

DC: Spy Museum

I visited the Spy Museum in Washington, DC this past November. The artifacts from a long history of spying were quite interesting. Tiny cameras in watches and hairbrushes and even in the buttons of a wool coat! Secret messages written on the cloth of hankies! * Visité el Spy Museum en Washington, DC el noviembre pasado. Los artefactos de una historia larga del acto de espiar eran bastante interesantes. ¡Cámaras minúsculas escondidas en relojes, en cepillas, y hasta en los botones de un abrigo! ¡Mensajes secretos escritas en la tela de un pañuelo!

Tiny guns hidden in lipstick tubes, gloves, and cigarettes! Radio transmitters hidden in fake dog poop! * ¡Pistolas pequeñas escondidas en un tubo de lápiz labial, en guantes, y en cigarillos! ¡Transmisores de radio escondidos en una imitación de caca de perro!

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Spy cameras strapped to the bellies of pigeons! Cyanide capsules that you activate by chewing on the end of your glasses! * ¡Una cámera grande atada a la barriga de una paloma! ¡Pílulas de cianuro escondidas en los anteojos!

The Spy Museum doesn't allow you to use cameras, though there are a couple of station where you can take a photo of yourself scattered among the exhibits. There is no rule against sketching, though! Scribbling down notes on stealthy weapons and recording devices really augmented the flavor of the exhibits. * El museo no permite fotographía, aunque hay algunos lugares donde puedes sacar un autoretrato entre las exhibiciones. ¡Pero no hay regla contra dibujar! Capturando con mis bosquejos información sobre armas secretas y grabadores de espionaje realmente aumentó el sabor de la exhibición.

Splat. Ow.

Fell off my bike Wed morning, and landed rather badly.

Left-handed self portait. A rough scab-map, if you will.

Broken wrist, broken elbow, cracked tooth, face full of scabs. I am quite certainly OK--but it's a distinctly uncomfortable and awkward version of OK.)

(And typing one-handed, as well as painting with the non-dominant hand, is slow work--so expect a bit of reduction in internetting from me over the next little bit!)

National Musem of Natural History

On this recent visit to the Smithsonian Institute, most of my time at the Natural History museum was spent in the lectures about Mark Catesby. But we did get a chance to scamper through the fossil displays at the lunch break. * Cuando visité el museo de historia natural del instituto Smithsonian, pasé la mayoría de mi tiempo en el simposio sobre Mark Catesby. Pero sí logramos una visita muy rápida a los fósiles enormes, durante el almuerzo.

Fossils of a glyptodont, an ancient antelope, and a nautilus. White pencil on black paper, 2012. * Fosiles de un gliptodóntido, un antílope anciano, y un nautilino. Lapiz blanco en papel negro, 2012. 

Skull of Xiphiacetus, an ancient dolphin. White pencil on black paper, 2012. * Cráneo de Xiphiacetus, un delfín anciano. Lapiz blanco en papel negro, 2012.

 
In 2002, I spent part of the summer among these exhibits: the microscope I needed to draw tiny details of fossil leaves was located in the "Fossil Lab" exhibition space, so hordes of tourists watched me through a big glass wall as I worked! It was neat to relive all the memories of working in that museum. (Looks like the same microscope is still in the same place, too.) * En el año 2002, pasé la mitad del verano trabajando entre estos fosiles: el microscopio que usaba para dibujar hojas de arboles ancianos estaba en la exhibición del "Laboratorio de Fosiles." Así que miles de turistas me miraban mientras que estaba dibujando, tan fijamente como miraban a los restos de los animales extintos. Era lindo visitar mi microscopio otra vez--¡todavia esta en el mismo lugar! 

Sketch of my old NMNH staff ID card. Pen and colored pencil on blue paper, 2002. * Dibujo de mi tarjeta de identificación para el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. Tinta negra y lapices de color en papel azul, 2002.