Love Letters to Insects, with Science Artist Manuela Guzman

Manuela Guzmán, is a visual Artist and illustrator born in Bogotá, Colombia. She recently completed her MFA program of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her subject of choice? Insects! Manuela is fascinated by all the ways insects influence the world around us, and our views on the world, and hopes to inspire people to get curious about insects and nature through her art. As she writes in her thesis, "in the context of an environmental emergency marked by extraction, extinction, and global warming, this project responds to the urgent need to change our relationship with non-human life. An “affective” approach in scientific communication becomes essential for the way we learn about our surroundings." In this podcast episode, dive into Manuela's art while learning about insects! 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:21 Meet Manuela Guzman 02:18 Love Letters to Insects, a Thesis 03:10 A Handshake with a Beetle 04:17 Creating a Bee Comic as an Ode to Pollinators and Their Complex Language 07:18 Science Communication in Cartoons Versus Realism 09:54 Apology Letter To a Bee 11:25 A Special Moth From Colombia 13:19 Learning about Ladybugs and Their Life Cycle 16:50 The Importance of Humanizing Insects 20:03 A History Of Insect Illustration 23:13 Grasshopper Myths And Play 24:37 Comics Can Stretch Time 26:34 Finding Scientists Via a BioBlitz 31:56 Sharing Art With Researchers 33:32 A Winter Without Insects 35:08 Monarch Caterpillar Rescue Mission 36:32 Wasp Predation and Accepting Nature's Cycle 37:55 Learning to Notice Insects 38:46 Learning About Parasitoid Wasps 40:02 Fear and Fascination with Insects 43:12 Illustration Tools and Texture 46:08 Playing With Scale 49:10 Pop-Up Books and Exhibits 53:22 A Letter to Decomposer Insects and Death 59:00 Art as Regeneration 01:03:05 Why Children's Books Matter 01:04:50 A Call for Collaboratio