Thankful for my support network.
My latest illustration depicts Myelin, the insulating layer of fat that wraps around the axons of neurons (here depicted in pink). Just like the plastic tubes around the wires in your house, myelin allows electric signals to travel inside these cells for long distances, without dissipating.
In the brain, myelin sheaths are formed by oligodendrocytes, a type of glial cells that wrap around multiple axons at the same time, forming a complex network on top of an already staggering complex network of neurons.
Oligodendrocyte – artwork by Holly Fischer http://open.umich.edu/education/med/resources/second-look-series/materials
My goal here was simply to pay tribute to these ‘support’ cells that are too often overlooked. Both neurons and oligodendrocytes are still incredibly simplified in my drawing (neurons don’t have any dendrites for one) but I hope it gives a sense of how intricate – and beautiful! – the brain can be.
This illustration was heavily influenced by the work of William Morris, of course, although mine is not a repeating pattern like his. I have been a big fan of his work and philosophy since visiting the William Morris Gallery, while working on my PhD in London.
“any decoration is futile…
William Morris
when it does not remind you of something beyond itself.”
William Morris, Pink and Rose, ca. 1890
