There was a time when I thought I could be an artist. And indeed, for a while, I thought that that dream was lost, until I found my inspiration again. So I started tinkering with the AFM (atomic force microscopy)-acquired images of the films I have deposited, and found that indeed, nanostructures can be wonderful materials to work with. Just use your imagination!
The opportunity to showcase my “work of art” finally came. I saw an announcement for a “Modern NANO-Art Gallery,” hosted by the ODNN07 (One-dimensional Nanostructures and Nanoarchitectonics) here in Tsukuba. I thought, why not? So I submitted my image. A few weeks later, I was informed that my image was among the chosen top 20 entries for the gallery. I was elated, of course. I also knew that there was an award to be given for the best image, as judged by the selection committee. At any rate, I was happy enough knowing that my entry was to be included in the gallery. And more importantly, I had fun experimenting with that image! I didn’t really mind so much about the award.
But then came another email – informing me that my image was selected as the best image! Surprise, surprise, surprise! 😀
So without further ado, here’s the winning entry, which I titled “Golden whorls on a blue pond”:
The image shown above was obtained by AFM on a YBaCuO (YBCO) superconducting thin film on CeO2-buffered sapphire. Colors were enhanced by Adobe Photoshop. 🙂
When you look at it, does it evoke any particular feelings? When I look at that image, the scene that comes to mind is that of pretty yellow flowers happily floating on a pond, beckoning anyone to come and pluck them. And so my artistic description of this image goes like this:
“I have fallen in love with thee
Thy golden whorls have captured me
Waiting to be plucked by fools like me
And held in our hands so daintily”
This image is currently being exhibited at the gallery. This gallery will only be until tomorrow. Here’s a snapshot of the panel displays:
Anyway, this evening I was invited to attend a banquet and receive this award:
A piece of paper? Nah, it’s much more than that! It’s a testament that my first venture into “science as art” has not been in vain. Not bad for a first try, eh?
This is for you, DAD!