Summer visitors to Studio Blue  will discover a new installation by Annette Mehr, a University of Rhode Island graduate. Mehr, who earned her M.F.A. in May 2013, added her artwork to the Studio Blue collection in July. Her series of six prints depicts individual species illustrated in great detail on handmade, hand-dyed paper.

Studio Blue is located in the Coastal Institute at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and presents a visually stunning display that integrates the fields of art and science.

Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) partnered with the Rhode Island School of Design and Office of Marine Programs (OMP) at the Graduate School of Oceanography to showcase and promote the collaboration of artists and scientists.

The space offers a multi-media commons for faculty, staff, students and visitors for meetings, educational enrichment and leisurely enjoyment. The artwork installations on display mark the culmination of creative works from art students who have been paired with ocean and marine scientists.

Mehr said she drew inspiration for her project from the URI Graduate School of Oceanography’s weekly trawls, which have been gathering data about the fish community in Narragansett Bay for more than 50 years. The species Mehr chose represent the shift in community brought about by increasing temperatures in the Bay.

Using a .25 mm pen, Mehr spent from six to 16 hours creating marine portraits with the traditional scientific illustration technique of pen and ink stippling. She made each sheet of paper a different shade of blue, representing the preferred temperature of each species. The darker the blue, the cooler the temperature.

Mehr plans to take a year off from her studies before applying to graduate school to become a medical illustrator.

Prior installations include Abaca´ Fiber Datum by Chad Amos Self, who received his B.F.A. from the University of Rhode Island in 2012. The image on the handmade paper is of a Stone Circle underneath the ocean’s water.

The artist found his inspiration in bathymetric maps through the work of Assistant Professor Chris Roman, an ocean engineer who uses sensing systems and acoustic technologies to create digital maps of the seafloor. For Self, whose career goal is to be a college art professor, the artwork offers a representation of Roman’s science.

Another installation, “Micro-lume” by Chelsea Fredrikson is produced from her work with Dr. John Kirkpatrick, a Postdoctoral Fellow from the URI Graduate School of Oceanography.

Lit from behind, the panels are meant to reflect what is seen through the light from a microscope.  Ink and paint thinner combine to make the images on the plexiglass panels. Frederickson’s goal was to demonstrate how bridging the arts and sciences can create interesting and educational projects.

As installations continue to go on display, Studio Blue will start to rotate the pieces in the studio and place them in other buildings. As evidenced by the displays to date, the artwork conveys the beauty and intensity found in science and helps communicate the value and appreciation of what lies beyond and beneath the water’s edge.

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle