Combining art and science a 'natural thing' for this Sudbury woman

Sometimes, you just have to "liver" a little.

A Sudbury woman is doing just that by combining her love of science and art.

Amanda Durkin, a PhD student at the Health Sciences North Research Institute, also has a passion for drawing. The result? Detailed drawings of organs, some placed on pages of textbooks with more information and others with a humorous message.

"As a science researcher … combining science and art is a natural thing for me," she said.​

Durkin says drawing became a part of her life in high school, but was put on hold early in her post-secondary education. While studying at Laurentian University, she submitted her work at the SciArt show and won.

"[I] realized that I could take what I'm passionate for now, which is science, and combine it with a hobby that I really love."

"Now I get the best of both worlds."

Durkin says combining the two is a way to make science more accessible to the public.

"I think art helps people understand science," she said.

"For me the combination of them is very natural but I think over time, science art could be a great way to communicate science to other people."

Many of her drawings are on textbook pages, which she creates. As for the reaction she gets, Durkin says people are usually drawn to a particular organ for a personal reason.

"Everyone has some kind of story that is linked to some organ," she explained.