A Relic of the Past, Drawing I

The final project in Drawing I

The prompt given was “metamorphosis”, and the drawing was to be done in charcoal on tinted Stonehenge paper. This piece was inspired by my transition from the biological sciences to the arts.

Before starting in the arts, I attended a different university and was studying biochemistry. I worked at a veterinary research program as a research assistant. While working, I was responsible for performing gel electrophoresis (hence the electrophoresis gel in the background) in order to help identify various fungal strains.

This lab worked primarily with felines, both domestic and wild cats. They had colonies of small domestic cats established for the purpose of making lifesaving and breakthrough discoveries in the field of veterinary medicine. The cat pictured was a part of one of these studies as a control animal for a feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) vaccination. When the study was coming to an end, the cats are offered to lab personnel as companion animals, as they are well socialized and in need of a forever home. I chose to adopt the cat pictured from the study and he has been incredibly important to me ever since.

But how does this relate to or represent a “metamorphosis”?

I ended up leaving the program, as STEM lacked the creative aspect that I desired out of a career. I am much more the “qualitative” than “quantitive”, which is why I ended up studying the arts. But though my path in life has changed, the short bit of time that I spent in the sciences influenced me greatly and it is still very much a part of who I am today. I still have this cat, since re-named Bagel, and he is a reminder of how much my life has changed, the metamorphosis that I underwent. I see him not only as a companion, but as a relic of my past and a reminder of where I came from.