Synthetic Gecko
That’s what they are calling it – “Synthetic Gecko”. The minuscule fibers that line a gecko’s paw pads actually interact with surfaces on a molecular level. This is what allows a gecko to hang upside-down on a sheet of glass. According to the BBC, researchers have developed a polymer sheet that has a surface covered with millions of microscopic hairs, which allow it to act on the same molecular principles employed by the gecko. They claim that a one meter square of the substance could hold a car to a ceiling. That is something I would like to see, though I still wouldn’t stand beneath it.
Throughout our existence, mankind has been inspired by nature when it comes to invention. After all, nature did it first. We are all products of the natural world. We derive wondrous medicines and materials from the natural world. All manner of science is inspired by animals and plants, and their natural processes. Aside from its providing us the basic necessities of life, which is no small thing in its own right, we owe a considerable debt to the ecosystem in which we live for everything else it has given us.
It has been said by millions of people around the globe – I am sure billions of times – but I will say it here again too because it doesn’t seem to be getting through to some of the most influential people. It is long past the time that we begin to better respect our interconnected world environment, and to repair the damage we have done.
We are finally beginning to understand the ultimately complex workings of Gaia; there is so much ahead of us, and so much to do to ensure that we never discover it is too late for us – before we have taken the last of it, and the only kind of gecko we have left is synthetic.
Imago
[Homines Partus]
Spring came with awakening, came with innocence and joy
Spring came with fascination and desire to deploy
Summer came with restlessness and curiousity
Summer came with longing for the things we could not be
Take me to the forest, take me to the trees
Take me anywhere as long as you take me
Take me to the ocean, take me to the sea
Take me to the Breathe and BE
Autumn came with knowledge, came with ego came with pride
Autumn came with shamefulness for the things we could not hide
Winter came with anger and a bitter taste of fate
Winter came with fear for the things we could not escape
Take me to the forest, take me to the trees
Take me anywhere as long as you take me
Take me to the ocean, take me to the sea
Take me to the Breathe and BE
Teach me of the forest, teach me of the trees
Teach me anything as long as you teach me
Teach me of the ocean, teach me of the sea
Teach me of the Breathe and BE
See me! I am the one creation
Hear me! I am all the love that came from Animae
Know me! I am the incarnation
Fear me! I am all the power held by Animae
Me!
Give me of the forest, give me of the trees
Give me anything as long as it’s for me
Give me of the ocean, give me of the sea
Give me of the Breathe and BE
Give me all the forests, give me all the trees
Give me everything as long as it’s for free
Give me all the oceans, give me all the seas
Give me all the breathing BE
~ Pain of Salvation, from the album titled “BE”
KIA Artbreak Slide Presentation
I will be giving a brief presentation at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 for the KIA’s Artbreak series. It will begin 12:15, and should run approximately twenty minutes. The slides will feature a selection of paintings from 1995 through 2005 as I give my thoughts on each piece.
A Brief Thought on Artistic Community
Recent events in my own life have reminded me of the importance of community between artists. It is all too easy to become insular, isolated, when living as an artist. Our work requires hours of solitary action, observation, and thought, but without creative interaction – between artists, and also between artists and the world at large – there is indeed a certain void in our lives.
“Flow” Wins Award
"Flow", 2006, Acrylics on Canvas, 20" x 24", by David Jay Spyker
David Jay Spyker has been awarded The Martin Maddox Prize for Imaginative Realist Painting at the Kalamazoo Area Show for “Flow”, a painting in acrylics on canvas. The prize is named after the artist Martin Maddox – who was a friend of Mr. Spyker – and it has been awarded at the show each year since Maddox’s death in 1997. Martin Maddox was known for the emotive, evocative, and imaginative style of his figurative paintings in oils and pastels.
The Kalamazoo Area Show is an annual regional art competition held at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. This year’s installment runs from July 1 – August 26, 2006; the show drew 718 entries (a record number), of which only 158 were accepted for exhibition by juror Tim Lowly. It is a very strong show this year, and is well worth the visit.