Richard Evans

When I think of Mr. Hodge and his art classes, I think of an incredible diversity of art and materials, textures, forms, lines, and colors. I think of celebrating creations large and small, "important" and "unimportant." Mr. Hodge helped me develop an interest and appreciation for visual art that I've continued throughout my life. I also learned about creative freedom joined with responsibility and respect. In Mr. Hodge's classes, we learned about and were free to explore a multitude of methods and materials for making visual art. We were also expected to use our time and materials responsibly and be sincere in our efforts. When working with clay, you needed to be focused on learning about the clay and how to work with it (not just goofing-off with it.) When working with pen and ink, you needed to focus and carefully observe the subject, and learn how to work with lines. Mr. Hodge helped me learn about "serious fun" - having fun while being responsible and engaged in something serious; this is also something I've continued throughout my life.

Biomechanical Study of Nebalia pugettensis I: Female Anntennae I & II, Ventral View, pen & ink on paper, 1980

I submit these drawings, modest as they are, in the spirit of serious fun. They are anatomical drawings of parts of a little known (as yet scientifically undescribed,)t iny (~ 6mm long) marine crustacean found along the West coast of the United States. The drawings focus on the structure of the antennae and the muscles and joints that enable their movement. Under a microscope using polarized light, the muscles appeared either bright blue or yellow, depending on the orientation of their fibers. Unfortunately I don't have color renditions.

I enjoyed making these drawings as part of a report titled "Autecology and Functional Anatomy of a Leptostracan, Nebalia pugettensis" that I completed for an independent study as an undergraduate at Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory in August of 1980. While these drawings are intended to be as accurate as possible for scientific reasons, I like to think they have some artistic or aesthetic appeal as well, although that is always in the eye of the beholder. I later obtained a Master of Science degree from Cornell University and became a professional ecologist, culminating in a 29-year long career with the National Park Service.

(photo, right) Nebalia Pugettensis, photograph by the Washington State Department of Ecology;

(below, from left to right) Biomechanical Study of Nebalia pugettensis II: Female Antennae I & II, Medial View, pen & ink on paper, 1980; Biomechanical Study of Nebalia pugettensis III: Antenna I of Male, pen & ink on paper, 1980; Biomechanical Study of Nebalia pugettensis IV: Antenna II and Pleopods of Male, ink and pencil on paper, 1980

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