12 ACUMEN • SPRING 2023 Additionally, for both Murmurations and Winds of Change, Murphy says she attempted to depict species in crisis through the lens of beauty rather than fear, in the hopes of encouraging viewers to ponder their own role in our changing evolution. Nest Alchemy More recently, Murphy collaborated with professor of biological sciences Jennifer Swann and the Office of Creative Inquiry’s NeuroSalon program to produce her series Nest Alchemy. “That was during COVID summer,” Murphy says, “so we were each shipped a sheep’s brain, and I was able to hand pick my two star art students who had been studying with me and were going on to get their medical illustration degrees in grad school.” Despite the pandemic, the collaboration was a productive win-win situation all around— Swann was planning on writing a textbook about the neuroanatomy of the brain; Murphy was able to continue her interest in exploring her questions about patterns and perspectives; and the students were preparing a portfolio of work so they could apply to graduate school. “It was a perfect pairing,” Murphy says. “Dr. Swann would give the neuroanatomy lecture in the morning, and I would give them their art assignment in the afternoon. Then, we would critique and give them our direction, as far as color palette or techniques to use.” The students Murphy chose were Sarrah Hussain ’21, who recently began graduate school in medical and biological illustration at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Viola Yu ’21, who is in the biomedical communications program at the University of Toronto. “Both of those young women were just remarkable painters and drawers and are going on to have great careers now,” Murphy says. For Murphy’s part, she was inspired by how the neurons, when they’re bunched together, look strikingly similar to bird nests. “During COVID isolation, we were all stuck at home in our nests,” Murphy says. “While taking quarantine walks, I noticed the nests being built in late spring of 2020 and how strikingly similar they were to neuron structures.” “That led me to ponder the essence of home as a place of sanctuary and of vulnerability,” Murphy adds. “Nest Alchemy also reflects on climate change and how mating and breeding seasons are affected by human kinds of impact.” While her residencies at scientific institutions have been immensely valuable to her growth as an artist, Murphy believes that her teaching at Lehigh helps her evolve as a painter just as much, by allowing her to question and push herself as much as her students. “I feel like my purpose on this planet is to be a painter and a teacher, and I’m lucky enough to do both of those things,” Murphy says. “Teaching keeps me in the trenches, and I think it’s great. The students are so curious and engaged, and I love seeing that light bulb go on when they get it.” ● Mixed media (above) and oil on canvas (below). CHRISTINE KRESCHOLLEK, ART IMAGES COURTESY OF DEIRDRE MURPHY
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