Katie is a student in the Master Scientific Illustration program at Maastricht University & Zuyd University in the Netherlands.
She firmly believes in the power of art and visualization in raising awareness and advancing education around critical scientific issues, especially gender inequality and environmental crises. As a scientific illustrator, she seeks to support innovative research and combat misinformation through accurate and engaging visuals. Katie harnesses her strengths in visual storytelling, precise drawing skills, and scientific research towards expanding diverse representation in scientific imagery and uplifting traditionally marginalized perspectives in research.
With experience independently dissecting human and animal specimens, observing human and animal surgeries/microsurgeries, and communicating with medical and biological experts, Katie is able to create work for a variety of clients. She takes the necessary time for research and consultation to ensure accurate and applicable information in her illustrations. She understands the appropriate visual and linguistic differentiation required to translate complicated scientific subjects and methodology for different audiences.
She is a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the Association of Medical Illustrators. She recently was named a Vesalius Scholar for her thesis work in progress with the Mo’orea Biocode 2.0 Project centering traditional ecological and biocultural knowledge from the indigenous communities in Mo’orea.
Katie continues her exploratory artistic practice outside of her scientific illustration commissions. Her work has been most recently presented in the Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX.
Photo by Katherine Hui
On her scientific illustration practice:
“I view this field as vital for facilitating understanding of scientific concepts for general audiences. I have examined how urgent, ongoing environmental crises are exacerbated by ignorance of nature’s interconnectedness and fragility. Living in Texas, I have also witnessed firsthand the dangers of scientific ignorance and misinformation. Misinterpretations and distortions of medical information contribute to disastrous policies that disproportionately affect women and minorities. My lived experiences and academic studies drive me to use the blend of art and science to demystify complex information and promote environmental and medical justice.”
On her individual artistic practice:
"In my practice, I let the work choose the medium. I generally work on larger scales, with each piece declaring its own identity and substance beyond the physical. Some are carefully constructed through hours of research and trial and error, while others are urgently and passionately thrown together in a matter of moments. Sometimes I study art like a science, sometimes I consume it like a meal, and sometimes I confront it like a fight.”
“In witnessing ubiquitous violence against women, discussing habitual harassment with my female peers, and experiencing sexual trauma, I came to understand my strong connection to the environment and my urge to protect it. I feel how structures of sexism, colonialism, and industrialization uphold aggressive masculinity and domination over women and nature. The voice of our natural world, as with the voices of so many women and feminine persons, is systematically silenced, ignored, and misconstrued.”