Assistant Professor Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri
I am afraid of most insects and spiders. If an insect other than a house fly or butterfly approaches me and catches me off guard, I scream. But fear is only one layer (dominated by my amygdala) of my complex experience and relationship with these creatures. After the initial scream, comes love, admiration, and curiosity. I have learned to open my heart and the non-amygdala parts of my brain to insects and spiders. So much so that, I make sculptures of them using ceramics, I have them on my dinner plates as patterns. I also happen to be a biology professor, who works on another group of underappreciated but adorable invertebrates: segmented worms. And I am on a mission! I want to invite everyone to try having this rich relationship with these animals. You feel fear and initial disgust perhaps? No problem, you are human after all. Can you take a step closer and look at these organisms with a fresh eye, like an alien who has freshly landed on Earth, unburdened with the evolutionary, social, and cultural baggage? Through my art, and my research, I create conversations to help build more complex relationships with these (adorable) creepy crawlies.