Resumé, Margaret C. Nelson
 

 

Education
Swarthmore College (1961-1965) B.A.; Major: Biology/Psychology; Minor: Fine Arts
University of Pennsylvania (1965-1970) M.A. & Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology.

Art Background

Professional Experience: Scientific Illustration
Illustrations for book and journal articles in diverse areas: anatomy, animal behavior, archeology, botany, entomology, mathematics, membrane physiology, natural history, neurobiology
Illustrations and text layout for scientific posters
Design and illustration for brochures and newsletters
Nontechnical illustrations for publicity posters, notecards, business cards
Consultations on questions of graphical representation for scientific concepts and data.

Pertinent Courses
Museum of Comparative Zoology Courses in Scientific Illustration (Harvard University) 1975-1976:
Introduction to Scientific Illustration (S. Landry)
Advanced Scientific Illustration ((L. Meszoly)
Archeological Drafting (S. Whitney Powell)
Techniques of Illustration, DeCordova Museum l974
Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh,TST-BOCES Adult Education (9-wk course) 1994
Advanced Photoshop: Special Effects, TST-BOCES Adult Education (9-wk course) 1996
Watercolor Technique: Contra Costa College, 2005

Workshops
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Summer Workshop in Scientific Illustration, Cornell, Ithaca, NY 1985
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Summer Workshop in Scientific Illustration, RISD, Providence, RI 1998
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Summer Workshop in Scientific Illustration, Acadia Coll., Glenside, PA 2000
Cornell Plantations Courses in Botanical Illustration (Bente King) 1984, 1987
Cornell Plantations Workshops in Scientific Illustration (two-day workshops):
“Painting with Carbon Dust” Elaine Hodges 1993
“Colored Pencil techniques” Wayne Cutler 1996
“Watercolor Techniques with Natural Objects” John Cody 1998
“Japanese Woodblock Prints” Keiko Hiratsuka Moore 1999
“Scratchboard Techniques” Trudy Nicholson 2000
“Artist Know Thy Colors” Camille Doucet 2005
“Scratching the Surface: Silverpoint” Scott Rawlins 2006

Artwork in Juried* Shows and Other Venues
Student show: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 1975
Local illustrators: Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, Northeast Chapter, Cornell 1982, l983
“The Scientist as Illustrator: a pictorial essay”*: Symposium in Memory of Prof. V.G. Dethier,
Umass/Amherst, 1995
“Jumping Spider: Odyssey of a picture book” (individual show): The Parlor Gallery, First Unitarian Church of Ithaca, 1995
Natural History Art (Group show): Art in the Parlor, First Unitarian Church of Ithaca, 1996
The art in science (with Frances Fawcett): Art in the Parlor, First Unitarian Church of Ithaca, 2002
Wrap Yourself in Art*:Tompkins County Public Library 2003
Ithaca Textile Arts Guild Members Annual Show* Upstairs Gallery, Ithaca 2003
Ithaca Artists Invitational*: State of the Art Gallery, Ithaca 2004
Time Well Spent--Ithaca Textile Arts Guild Members Annual Show* Upstairs Gallery, Ithaca 2004
First Annual Members’ Show, Guild of Natural Science Illustrators-Finger Lakes Chapter: Ithaca Gallery 2005
The Many Dimensions of Art*: Upstairs Gallery, Ithaca 2005
The Art of Friends: Art in the Parlor, First Unitarian Church of Ithaca 2006
Double Vision: Artworks by Frances Fawcett and Margy Nelson: Art in the Parlor, First Unitarian Church 2006
Members’ Shows at State of the Art Gallery, Ithaca, NY: September 2006, May 2007, September 2007,
Wrap Yourself in Art II*:Tompkins County Public Library 2006
Light in Winter art shows, SoAG and CSMA galleries, Ithaca Jan 2007
Orders of Magnitude (three-person show), State of the Art Gallery, Ithaca NY, April 2007
Layers, a show of photography*: CSMA gallery, Ithaca, Oct-Nov 2007
SOAG Members Exhibit, George Waters Gallery, Elmira, NY Nov 2007

Books Illustrated
My illustrations have appeared in many books and journals. Below are the books in which all non-photographic illustrations are mine.

Wisdom of the Hive, by Thomas Seeley, 1995, Harvard University Press

Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior, by Sara Shettleworth, 1998, Oxford University Press (2nd ed. in prep)

Tree of Origin, Ed. Frans B. M. de Waal, 2001, Harvard University Press

Knots: Mathematics with a Twist, by Alexei Sossinsky, 2002, Harvard University Press

SYNC: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order, by Steven Strogatz, 2003, Theia/Hyperion

Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue! by Carla Fitzgerald Williams, 2003, Hyperion

For Love of Insects, by Thomas Eisner, 2003, Belknap Press / Harvard University Press

Genes in Conflict, by Austin Burt and Robert Trivers, 2006, Belknap Press / Harvard University Press

Superorganism, by Edward O. Wilson & Bert Hölldobler, 2008, W. W. Norton

Courses and Workshops Taught
The Art Techniques of Redouté (with Bente King) Cornell Plantations in conjunction with Johnson Art Museum (Cornell)]
Pen and Ink technique : Cornell Plantations
Sewing Workshops at Quilters Corner, Ithaca, NY:
Sew a Tulip Pouch
Bunnyroo Bag for Easter
A Five-sided fabric Sewing Kit
Christmas Ornaments Workshop

Professional Societies
Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
Ithaca Textile Arts Guild
Elected Member, State of the Art Gallery

 

Science Background, in brief

Professional Experience
Senior Research Associate, Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University 1979-1986
Instructor and Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School 1975-1979
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University 1972-1975
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, Tufts University 1970-1972 (under Prof. K.D. Roeder)
Ph.D., 1970, University of Pennsylvania, Physiological Psychology (under Prof. V. G. Dethier)
B.A. In Honors, 1965, Swarthmore College (major: Biopsychology; minor: Fine Arts)

Research Support (for work on neural basis of insect behavior)
NSF Grant #BNS 81-08106, Jan 1982 - Dec 1985
NINCDS Grant#NS 16323, Jan 1979 - Dec 1981
NSF Grant #BNS 81929, June 1977 - Dec 1978
Milton Fund of Harvard University, 1976-1977
Rosensteil Biomedical Sciences Foundation Grant, 1974 - 1975

Teaching Experience
Courses in neurobiology, animal behavior, invertebrate zoology, entomology, and physiological psychology, taught at Cornell, Harvard, the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, and Brandeis .

Publications
Nine refereed papers, twelve abstracts

Professional Societies
International Society for Neuroethology
Cambridge Entomological Club
Sigma Xi
Member of the Corporation, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

Fine Art Originals and Prints

Chumley's Tchotchkies

All images on this site are copyright protected and may not be reused without the express permission of the artist.