Learn The Art & Therapeutic Nature Of Patterns
Workshops & Retreats Exploring The Swirling Oneness Of Things
~ Australia, International and Online Learning with Stephanie June Ellis
Hidden Geometry Of The Ocean
The Hidden Geometry of the Ocean Introduction
Sharing wonder, pattern, form and function
Join special guest Marine Biologist ~ Alice Forrest & Artist ~ Stephanie June Ellis
as they take you on a mystical adventure down under
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Please Note: This is a recorded zoom class.
.(Unlimited streaming after purchase)
Part one
~ Class analysis ~
Seastar ~ 5 fold
Seashell ~ Golden Rectangle
Diatom ~ 24 pointed star
Class runs for 4.5 hours
Materials needed ~
Notepad
A3 sketch pad
Good working compass
Ruler
Pencil
Rubber
Fine tip black pen
Everyone will receive 3 pages of class notes ~ When purchasing the class please use the correct email address
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~ About your guest speaker ~
Alice Forrest is a marine biologist and wildlife guide, with a passion for the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. As a researcher but also a divemaster & freediver, she’s a firm believer in the need to communicate the science as well as the intrinsic value of the ocean and what’s beneath the surface.
After completing a Bachelor of Science (Biodiversity & Conservation) and Bachelor of Marine & Antarctic Science (with Honours), she has worked around her home country of Australia & the seas and oceans of the world. Her work as a scientist has led to her finding plastic inside commonly eaten fish in French Polynesia, discovering the most plastic-polluted beach in the world on Henderson Island (Pitcairn), studying blue whales off Sri Lanka and the deep sea off Tasmania. She believes science is worthless unless communicated, and with this in mind has worked in wildlife conservation and plastic pollution education for many years.
Alice is not just extremely enthusiastic about wildlife & wild places, but also about sharing that excitement with others. She's worked extensively in marine tourism, guiding tourists to remote locations like Antarctica and the Arctic, as well as under the sea in her home country of Australia. Her favourite thing is watching people fall in love with nature as they snorkel with tiger sharks, kayak with dolphins, see eye-to-eye with humpback whales, or get breathed on by a minke in a Zodiac in Antarctica.
Based in the hills of Byron Bay on Australia's east coast, Alice lives in an off-grid tiny home with her partner, and attempts to live as sustainably as possible in the hope of minimising her own footprint and inspiring positive change. She writes for several publications and presents to schools, businesses and community groups on how to have a positive impacts on our oceans. When she's not at home, you can find her in Tonga with humpback whales, in small island communities across the Pacific Ocean implementing local plastic pollution solutions, or working as a guide somewhere salty. She believes that we protect what we love, and that it's necessary to explore, adventure, and appreciate what this planet has to offer (then use that as a motivation to protect it).
Alice hopes to use her degree and knowledge to inspire positive change and protect what she loves - our big blue planet
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Geometry Of Diatoms
Geometry Of Diatoms
In this workshop you will explore a variety of radial & bilateral diatoms and their stunning complex geometric patterns
~ Class analysis ~
Truania Archangelskiana,
Sturtiella Elegans
Actinoptychus Heliopelta
Entogoniopsis Polyaistinora
No drawing skills required
Class runs for 3 hours
What are diatoms? ..... They're so tiny & complex you can't usually see them without a microscope, but despite their miniscule size, diatoms play a crucial role in one of the these single-celled algae are a type of plankton. They turn sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis, so they're a vital component of ocean ecosystems -- and of many freshwater ecosystems as well.
Somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of all photosynthesis on our planet is carried out by diatoms. That means that as much as a quarter of Earth's oxygen comes from diatoms. Since humans and all other animals need oxygen to breathe, we all rely indirectly on diatoms to sustain us. By fixing carbon or converting it from carbon dioxide into sugar, diatoms also reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just as terrestrial plants do.
In the ocean, diatoms are eaten by tiny animals called zooplankton. Zooplankton in turn sustain larger organisms, like fish, so many animals in the ocean depend on diatoms either directly or indirectly for their survival. Diatoms are responsible for over 40 percent of photosynthesis in the world's oceans, and without them, the ocean would be unable to support the amount of life that it does. ~ sciencing.com
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Geometry Of Seastars
~ Geometry Of Seastars ~
In this workshop we will explore seastars divine display of radial symmetry and their unique variations. Genus exploration includes the Iconaster longimanus, the ancient Luidia senegalensis, a nine-armed tropical sea star found in the western Atlantic Ocean, and the Culcita novaeguineae known as the Cushion Star found intropical warm waters in the Indo-Pacific.
No drawing skills required
Class runs for 3 hours
Geometry Of Seashells
Geometry Of Seashells
Exploring 4 proportional harmonies inspired from a selection of
seashell formations with a focus on logarithmic spirals using the octagon,
hexagon and the torus spiral.
Class runs for 3 hours
What are seashells and why are they important to the ecosystem?
Seashells are an important part fo the biological and geological process of beach stabilisation and creating important sediment.
They are materials for birds' nests, a home or attachment surface for algae, sea grass, sponges and a host of other microorganisms.
Fish use them to hide from predators, and hermit crabs use them as temporary shelters. The removal of large shells and shell fragments also has the potential to alter the rate of shoreline erosion.
Shells are mostly made from calcium carbonate, and 2% protein.
Unlike typical animal structures, shells are not made up of cells. Mantle tissue that is located under and in contact with the shell secretes proteins and mineral extracellularly to form the shell.
Think of laying down steel (protein) and pouring concrete (mineral) over it.
Thus, seashells grow from the bottom up, or by adding material at the margins.
Since their exoskeleton is not shed, molluscan shells must enlarge to
accommodate body growth.
This pattern of growth results in three distinct shell layers: an outer proteinaceous periosteum (uncalcified), a prismatic layer (calcified) and an inner pearly layer of nacre (calcified).
Sadly, as more trash makes its way to the ocean and coastlines, fewer shells are available for these animals. It is becoming increasingly common to find hermit crabs living in toxic plastic waste such as bottle and toothpaste caps which do not fit their body shape and make for a very uncomfortable and dangerous living. You might think twice next time you snag a seashell from the beach and drop it into your pocket: you might be altering the seaside environment.
Geometry Of Crinoids
~ Geometry Of Crinoids ~
These majestic creatures are part of the Echinodermata family which include sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars, and brittle stars Echinodermata are so named owing to their spiny skin (from the Greek “echinos” meaning “spiny” and “dermos” meaning “skin”), and this phylum is a collection of about 7,000 described living species.
~ Brittlestars ~
Brittlestars or ~ serpent stars ~ or ophiuroids are closely related to starfish from the Ancient Greek word
'Ophis' meaning serpent. Over 2000 brittle stars live today.
They have a tendency to display five-segment radial (pentaradial) symmetry
~ Feather Stars ~
These majestic creatures are faithful radiating flora of the ocean, which is most likely how this incredible creature received its name. ~ Crinoidia is derived from *krinon* which is Greek for the Lily. They have pentameral symmetry and can grow up to 200 arms. In this workshop we will draw a feather star foundation utilising 80 points.
~ Basketstars ~
Basketstars are a taxon of brittle stars, or shall we say ~ a fancy brittle star.
In this workshop we will focus our geometric construction on the Gorgonocephalus, known as the Medusa Star.
The scientific name comes from the Greek, gorgós meaning "dreaded" and -cephalus meaning "head", and refers to the similarity between these stunning echinoids and the Gorgon's head from Greek myth with its coiled serpents for hair. The Greek mythological hero Perseus beheaded the Gorgon Medusa; when Perseus later dropped Medusa's head on the beach, her petrifying glance turned the nearby seaweed to stone, creating the first coral.
Geometry Of Jellyfish
~ Geometry of Jellyfish ~
Explore an array of Jellyfish patterns using geometric and biomorphic patterns whilst learning meticulous and splendrous facts with Marine Biologist Alice Forrest.
We will explore and draw different perspectives of various genus including
The Lions Maine, Compass and Moon Jellies using the torus vortex.
Bodyparts of the Jellyfish radiate from a central axis causing radial symmetry.
This allows the jellyfish to detect & respond to food or danger from any direction.
Existing of only 95% water ~ these ancient creatures truly flow with the course of nature living the true watercourse way.
"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong"
