Art and Appreciation!

wooden bird
Wooden Northern cardinal carved by Alejandro Berrio-Escobar

Fall is the perfect time to get together, reconnect, and toast to the ability to work in our labs and see each other in person. In that spirit, Duke Biology held a Fall Art and Appreciation reception, celebrating the creativity and talent of our students, postdocs, staff, and faculty.

The weather was perfect for an outside gathering. We used this opportunity to see colleagues who left the department mid-pandemic, such as Jo Bernhardt, Caroline Usher, Michael Barnes, and Greg Piotrowski, and give them a safe and warm send-off. Caroline Usher, retired administrative assistant, along with her duet partner Craig Wiggins, added a cherry on the cake with a beautiful lute performance.

collage showing a wooden bird, animal collages, a model boat, a mosaic, a stained glass moth, and a quilt
Top, left to right: wooden sculptures by Alejandro Berrio-Escobar, collages and drawings by Emily Bernhardt, model boat by Todd Smith. Bottom: mosaic by Caroline Usher, stained glass Luna moth by Kinsey Fisher, and quilt by Lucia Strader.
montage with a drawing on sand, painting of a red panda, embroidered iris, photos, and a chair
Top, left to right: a steel ball makes drawings in the sand in this 3D printer repurposed by Fred Nijhout, animal paintings by Elise Paietta, recaned chair by John Willis. Bottom: embroideries by Justin Wright, nature photos by Gongyuan Cao and Katherine Henson (not shown).
montage with knit hats and mittens, drawings, a clock, and embroideries.
Top, left to right: lichen and mushroom dyed wool and yarn knit hats and mittens by Julien Liber, extracts from a long form comic. Bottom: drawings by Siddharthan Balachandar Thendral, embroideries by Shannon Skarha, weaving by Martha Klopfer.

Special thanks to the 2021 Celebration Committee (Fred Nijhout, Steve Nowicki, Jesse Granger and Katie Henson), as well as Randy Smith, Amy Clayton and Blythe Boquist for all their work pulling together this lovely reception.