This is the second post in a 3-part series (read the first one here) about how I’m finding creative inspiration by engaging with the analog world in new-to-me ways and exploring new paths with curiosity and without expectations. It’s about putting down devices—or, as psychologist Jonathan Haidt refers to them, “experience blockers”—and being more intentional with how I spend my time. I hope you are inspired to do the same.
When was the last time you were a total beginner at something?
For me, it was back in March. Inspired by a pre-surgery DNA test I had last year, I enrolled in Biohacker Bootcamp, an in-person class at a community biotech lab called Genspace. They offer courses for curious non-scientists.
Dr. Jen Bohn taught us lab skills like how to use a pipette. We swabbed cheek cells, ran a PCR (yep, same as a Covid test), separated DNA with gel electrophoresis, and bioengineered bacteria. I loved it all!
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It was invigorating and exciting to walk into a classroom, way out of my comfort zone, knowing almost nothing about the topic. I was a total newbie, full of curiosity, with everything to learn and nothing to lose.
What does this have to do with making art?
While at Genspace, I learned they host artists-in-residence. Artists in a science lab?! Yes! These artist-scientists create art using biotechnology, called bioart. One form is called agar art. Bacteria, often E. coli, are “painted” on an agar plate (aka, petri dish) and incubated to grow an image. E. coli sounds scary—the strain I talk about in this post is not a danger to humans. Agar is a gelatin-like substance that provides nutrients to the bacteria, and a place to grow.
Here are some examples of agar art, made by professionals and amateurs, on Instagram. It’s hard to believe these beauties are made with bacteria:
I’d never heard of agar art, but I went fully down the rabbit hole. Learning to paint with bacteria checks off the ‘FEARLESS’ box of my ethos, for sure… and what better way to use our leftover nitrile gloves from the pandemic! But, without access to a lab, I wasn’t sure it was possible.
Google led me to a company developed at MIT called Amino Labs. They had all the info and equipment I needed to (safely, legally) be a bioart adventurer at home! I emailed the founder, Julie Legault, a gem of a human who patiently answered my zillions of questions and equally shared my enthusiasm.
This is my first time using one of Amino’s kits to pour and streak the agar plates and then incubate my bacteria “paint” palette. The kit was for beginners, so the bacteria was pre-engineered to produce these colors:
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Because agar is transparent, many artist-scientists sketch a template to place underneath the fresh plate and then trace over it with the bacteria sampled from the palette plate. I drew templates of hand-lettering and a Mona character:
Experiment #1
With the bacteria palette and templates ready, it was time to paint! The kit came with sterile cotton swabs to use as “paintbrushes” and apply the bacteria.
I put the hand-lettered template under a fresh plate. I chose a pointy-ish swab and sampled some purple E. coli from my palette. How hard could this be?
IT WAS LIKE DRAWING WITH INVISIBLE INK ON JELL-O!!
Dragging the swabs across the jiggly surface felt alien. I could not see the bacteria as I applied it. It’s invisible to the eye until it grows! It was so disorienting to “draw” with something I could not see. I couldn’t tell how thick my line was, or where I put it. How would I know if the bacteria got from the swab to the plate? I didn’t want to press too hard and risk puncturing the agar.
I went with it and reminded myself to be unafraid of the process.
My hand felt awkward against the raised edge of the plate and my wrist was shaking because I was nervous. I didn’t want to lean too close and breathe on the plate. Invisible-drawing isn’t easy or elegant while wearing nitrile gloves, and it’s challenging to simultaneously remember all the new-to-me safe lab practices so as not to contaminate the art, or my home. Sensory overload!
The painted plates looked like yellowish-clear jell-o with clear, wet streaks. I popped these art mysteries into the incubator for 24 hours at 37°C, and here is what grew:
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Not exactly museum-worthy, but ya gotta start somewhere!
The hand-lettering is a fail—it’s supposed to be purple, but didn’t show up. I can see some growth on there, though. The cat is surprisingly recognizable.
Experiment #2
I gave the hand-lettering another try, this time in fluorescent cyan.
Instead of swabs as a paintbrush, I tried tiny inoculation loops. These are sterile sticks with a loop at the end that scientists use to streak specimens onto agar. I was calmer this time, with a less shaky hand. Here is what the plate looked like after I applied the bacteria… like nothing:
And here’s what came out of the incubator after 24 hours at 37°C:
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SUCCESS!!!
I am happy with this one, and preferred the loops as a painting tool instead of the swabs. And the fluorescent bacteria look so cool under the black light. YAY! The purple accents still did not show up. Oh well.
I’m already planning my next agar art experiments and loading up on more supplies. It’s crazy how tricky bacteria is as a medium! I am curious to see how good I can get at this. I am grateful to Julie at Amino Labs for developing this home/classroom equipment to make bioart accessible to all.
Would you ever try painting with bacteria? What is something you are fearless enough to try and be a total beginner at?
See you in Part 3 of this series (read the first part here),
xo Lori