Deep-Sea Biology Society Arts

This week in our Deep Sea Round Up:
🔹️Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems at seamounts,
🔹️How scientific practices at sea influence ocean management,
🔹️Nutrient cycling sponge hotspots

👉 www.dosi-project.org/dosi-deep-se...

📷 Oblong Dermechinus urchins by ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.

🔬 Scientist: Gaya
 Marine biologist and IMBRSea graduate, researching the impacts of deep-seabed mining on meiofaunal communities in the Pacific. With 100+ days at sea across the Indian, Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans, he combines field experience, peer-reviewed research, and global science communication on deep-ocean biodiversity and mining risks. 🎨 Artist: Delphine
 Creating a series of oil paintings inspired by life in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, alongside custom coloring plates featuring deep-sea creatures. Printed on art paper for children to explore and paint, these works invite young minds to discover deep-sea ecosystems through imagination and scientific insight, fostering connection, awareness, and stewardship for one of Earth’s least understood environments. 🤝 Together, Oceans Unmined brings art and science into the classroom, empowering the next generation to understand and care for the deep ocean.

Detail of an oilpainting of a Hyalonema. Hyalonema species are deep-sea sponges famous for their long, twisted silica spicules that form a flexible “glass rope.” Found at depths of 200–2,000 m, they anchor themselves into soft sediments while their upper body filters microscopic particles from the water. Their intricate glassy skeletons are among the most beautiful natural structures found in the deep ocean. On the long stalk live tiny polyps.

Meet Oceans Unmined 🌊

www.oceansunmined.org

An initiative dedicated to protecting the ocean’s last true wilderness through creativity, community, and education.

#OceansUnmined #SciArt #ArtSeaMatchmaking #OceanEducation #ProtectTheDeep

“The hadal zone - the deepest parts of our ocean - can feel distant and mysterious because of its extreme depth. But it’s deeply connected to our planet and full of unexpected beauty. Through this SciArt project, we aim to bring that hidden world to life by capturing what it feels like to descend into the deep sea in a submersible.” 🎨 Art Lead: Frances Drader (Bean Sprout NZ), a multimedia artist from Aotearoa who has loved giant squids and the deep ocean since childhood, and who currently enjoys traditional printmaking. 🔬 Scientific Lead: Mackenzie Gerringer, Associate Professor at SUNY Geneseo, researching the physiology and ecology of deep-sea animals, including the deepest-living fishes on Earth.

Meet the team behind Hadal Context 🌊✨

Frances and Mackenzie are committed to blending science and art to help people on the surface feel connected to the extraordinary beauty of the ocean’s deepest depths.

Read more about them in the ALT-text ☺️

#SciArt #ArtSeaMatchmaking #DeepSea #HadalZone

First glimpse ⭐

We just received the very first gouache paintings from artist Megan, and they’re already full of wonder and ocean magic 💙

Can’t wait to see this science-meets-art journey unfold!


#SciArt #ArtSeaMatchmaking #DeepSea #CoralReefs #ScienceCommunication #Illustration #WIP

Getting ready for our show in Juneau! All the work arrived safe and sound, look at all that fab art together, like a perfect deep sea family 😍😍😍 #sciart #deepsea #deepseart #alaska #artshow 🦑🐡

Michelle (entomologist) & Tanja (deep-sea ecologist/biogeochemist) depict various abyssal forms and how these are threatened by deep-seabed mining. Working in 2 different media (i.e., pen & ink on paper vs. oil on canvas) and in 2 different artistic styles (scientific illustration vs. surrealism), they will embrace the beauty of deep-sea sponges. Two media. Two styles. One deep ocean story.

Meet Abyssal Forms 🌊

Two scientists turning research into art.
By day: biologists. By night: artists.

Read about this amazing team in the ALT-text 🤍

Follow @drtanjastratmann.bsky.social on her journey!

#ArtSeaMatchmaking #SciArt#ConservationThroughArt

4 valentines in a grid, a pelican eel with the words "You make my jaw drop", an anglerfish that says "You're my light in the darkness", a grimalditeuthis that says "I find you a LURE ing" and two octopuses and a snailfish on the skeleton of a whale that says "I've Whale Fallen for you" lmao. The octopuses are making a heart with their arms together.

Everything is really scary and horrible, and on the utter flipside, we made these really adorable valentines.

The dissonance of seeing horror, then posting "hey buy some cute valentines" is making me feel loopy.

But also nice things persist despite terror? Ugh idk.

Get 'em at SquidFacts.net

Not long now! Just under two weeks until our show opening in Juneau Alaska- will we see you there? #deepsea #sciart #womeninstem #womenartists #alaska 🦑🐡 #artshow

Ooooo yeah, one more piece for our upcoming show in Juneau Alaska! A deep-sea octopus, titled “Living the Kaleidoscope Life” this 16x20” acrylic on canvas is based on deep sea footage taken by NOAA off the coast of Alaska in 2023 #deepsea #deepseacreatures #octopus 🦑🐡 #sciart #womenartists #painting

Ariane Schoenwiesner Ariane is an engineer-artist-maker with a B.S. in Computer Engineering from New York University, who combines systems-engineering rigor with creative invention. In her practice she explores the intersection of technical innovation, material behaviour, and user interaction, blurring the line between engineering and experiential art. For Electroreceptive, Ariane will be leading the design, construction, and programming elements. Daniel Moore Daniel is a Lecturer in Marine Biology at the University of Exeter, specialising in the ecology and evolutionary biology of marine vertebrates, with a particular focus on deep-sea sharks and cetaceans. Daniel will be leading the scientific interpretation of Electroreceptive.

Meet Electroreceptive 🦈

Ariane and Daniel are creating an installation that brings shark electroreception to life.
A touch-sensitive panel, swirling ferrofluid, and a hidden magnetic “shark” reveal how these predators navigate total darkness.

#ArtSeaMatchmaking #SciArt #InteractiveArt

One more painting for the @unseenocean.bsky.social shows completed! Titled “Nibbles and Cuddles” this 24x24” acrylic on canvas is a Chondrocladia carnivorous sponge, several varieties of brittle stars, and even a little rainbow polychaete too! #deepsea #deepseacreatures #deepocean 🐡🦑 #acrylicpainter

Representing the carnivorous sponges for our shows in 2026!

On this fine fall day, we have some little baby deep-sea octopus 🐙

#deepseaoctopus #babyoctopus #deep-sea #unseenoceancollective #deepseacreatures #🐙

Working away on this #deepsea carnivorous sponge, crinoid and brittle star painting. It’s getting there, probably 75% done now, adding all the details and rainbow colors is my fav part! #deepseacreatures #coldwatersponges 🐡🦑 #invertebrates #acrylicpainting #marinebiology #art #painting #artist

So honored to be working with this incredible group of women! @planulara.bsky.social @gsstudios907.bsky.social @highseas-sculpture.bsky.social

Welcome to the Unseen Ocean! #deepsea #deepseacreatures #sciart #womeninstem #unseenoceancollective 🦑🐡

A 24x24 inch acrylic on canvas painting of a deep-sea blob sculpin photographed off the coast of Alaska. Titled “Not the Blob You’re Looking For” this painting will be exhibited in Juneau Alaska in February of 2026, Spokane WA in April of 2026 and Newport Oregon in July of 2026. #deepsea #deepseacreatures #blobfish #acrylicpainting #art 🐡🦑

I’m back to share what I’ve been working on for the @unseenocean.bsky.social collective! Here we have the noble Blob sculpin, not the hot melted mess in the most famous blobfish photo, but a true and beautiful deep-sea beauty! #deepsea #deepseacreatures #blobfish #acrylicpainting #art 🐡🦑

Our show in Juneau Alaska is coming up next month! We hope you can join us and see this new Blob Sculpin painting in person! #deepsea #deepseacreatures #blobfish #acrylicpainting #art 🐡🦑

🎨 Megan 
Megan Paustian is an artist and PhD ecologist who brings science to life through visual storytelling. She dreams of creating nature-inspired children’s books and loves shining a spotlight on the tiny animals that make up most of species diversity. 🔬 Kelsey 
Kelsey Archer Barnhill is a deep-sea scientist based in Norway, specializing in cold-water coral ecology. As Head of Research & Development at Aspecto, she connects academic and industry science to strengthen knowledge exchange and production.

Deep Sea Coral Education for Children 🌊

With Kelsey’s expertise in deep-sea coral reefs and Megan’s talent for illustration, they'll create a non-fiction children’s book that dives into the amazing world of deep-sea corals.

#ArtSeaMatchmaking #DeepSeaCorals #OceanEducation #WomenInScience

✨ A collaboration that will reveal the hidden beauty of black corals ✨ 🎨 Cassidy Cat is a New England–born illustrator whose early years spent roaming the rural woods sparked a lasting love for the natural world. She earned her BS in Zoology and a minor in Studio Art from Oregon State University, followed by specialized training in the Science Illustration graduate program at CSUMB. Cat’s work blends scientific accuracy with visual storytelling to help make science accessible to broader audiences. 🔬 Jeremy Jeremy is a Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution where he studies the taxonomy and evolutionary history of the coral order Antipatharia (black corals). 🤝 Together Black corals rarely get the detailed illustrations they deserve, especially when it comes to the tiny structures that matter for taxonomy. That’s why illustrator Cat and researcher Jeremy Horowitz are collaborating on a series that highlights these features in a new way. Guided by Horowitz’s expertise, Cat’s artwork will capture the spines, polyps, and branching patterns that define this deep-sea coral group, creating visuals that can support both scientific understanding and public appreciation.

🌊Meet this awesome ArtSea Matchmaking duo 🌊

Guided by Jeremy’s expertise, Cat will create visuals that can support both scientific understanding and public
appreciation.

#sciart #artseamatchmaking #scientificillustration #deepsea #coralreef #deepseascience #marinebiodiversity #scicomm

🎨 Dexter is a deep-sea and polar benthic ecologist who’s studied larval dispersal around methane seeps and hydrothermal vents. He now SCUBA dives at methane seeps in Antarctica! Through scientific illustration, he brings fragile underwater habitats to life, raising awareness and inspiring protection for the species that call them home. 🧭 Maeva is a deep-sea biologist exploring molecular evolution and the partnerships between invertebrates and their symbiotic bacteria. She recently descended in a deep-sea submersible to a newly explored Western Pacific seamount and can’t wait to share the stunning communities they encountered.

🌊Meet Dexter Davis and Maeva Perez

Two incredible scientists turning deep-sea discovery into art.

Together, they’re creating a community poster celebrating the invertebrates of Western Pacific seamounts.

#ArtSeaMatchmaking #DeepSeaScience #MarineBiology #SciArt #OceanExploration #DeepSeaLife

🎨 Laura Wöllner Laura is an artist based in Portsmouth, UK, she has a BA in Animation from the University of Portsmouth and she has a growing love for ceramics. Clay as a medium is so incredibly tactile and versatile; and exposing it to upwards of 1000°C in the kiln means you can never be 100% sure exactly how your creations will turn out. She is passionate about conservation, sustainability, and Earth’s weird and wonderful creatures, Laura champions the underdogs of the natural world: organisms far from the “charismatic megafauna,” yet no less beautiful and fascinating. With a special admiration for the deep sea, she believes its strange, complex, and hidden life deserves the spotlight - And that it’s worth protecting. 🐚💙 🔬 Dr. Emanuel Pereira Emanuel is a deep-sea researcher from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He’s working at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. His PhD thesis focused on the taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of deep-sea isopod crustaceans. They are among the most bizarre animals and are commonly found in association with cold-water hard corals. He recently joined the renowned expedition “Underwater Oases of the Mar del Plata Canyon: Talud Continental IV” aboard the RV Falkor, further deepening his exploration of one of Earth’s least-known ecosystems. He is driven by a lifelong passion for marine biology and has been interested in crustaceans after knowing their diversity biology and ecology. Emanuel hopes to raise visibility for deep-sea fauna and demonstrating the importance of one of the least known habitats in the world. 🌍🦐

🤝 Together Together, Laura and Emanuel aim to reveal the deep sea not as bleak or lifeless, but as a bustling, vibrant community. Their collaboration centers on a multi-layered, three-dimensional ceramic ceramic sculpture of a coral, populated with a selection of the typical fauna that call these corals home — from permanent residents to fleeting visitors. By restoring form, color, and presence to species we rarely see alive, they hope to bring these hidden creatures closer to viewers and showcase the deep sea’s true beauty, complexity, and vitality. This photo shows their first ceramic artwork: A beautiful clay cup with a brittle star coiling around the cup and the ear. It has not been in the kiln yet, so it still has the natural gray color

The same cup from the last picture, but out of the kiln. The brittle star now has a beautiful reddish brown color

A detail from the same artwork, to show the beautiful texture of the brittle star. This photo also shows the wonderful colors on the coiling arms

🌊 Associate Fauna ✨

An ArtSea Matchmaking team where ceramics, curiosity, and deep-sea discovery come together.

#sciart #artandscience #artseamatchmaking #ceramicart #newceramics #deepsea #coralreef #deepseascience #marinebiodiversity #weirdandwonderful #scicomm #unseenworlds

Meet our first ArtSea Matchmaking duo: 🔬 Alina Wieczorek 
She is a Fisheries Acoustician at Earth Sciences New Zealand in Wellington. Her research focuses on understanding life hidden in the ocean’s hidden layers, from deep scattering layers to microscopic traces of DNA in seawater.
By combining active acoustics with environmental DNA (eDNA), she uncovers how mid-trophic organisms - those linking plankton to fish; and fish to marine predators - shape ecosystems from the Ross Sea in Antarctica to the North Atlantic.
Alina is passionate about creative science outreach, turning invisible data and complex marine processes into stories and visuals people can truly connect with. 🌐 🎧 Eli Stine 
He is an internationally active media artist, software engineer and educator. Eli’s work blends sound, technology, and environment. As Assistant Professor of Computer Music & Digital Arts at Oberlin Conservatory, he creates immersive electronic music, interactive multimedia installations, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. 🔊

🌊 Double Helix Harmonies

Meet our first ArtSea Matchmaking duo

Alina and Eli are transforming deep-ocean data into immersive, visual experiences - revealing the beauty, mystery, and fragility of the world beneath the waves.

#sciart #artseamatchmaking #dataart #soundart #digitalart #scicomm

In-progress watercolor painting of a snowglobe jelly on black paper

Experimenting with watercolor on black paper by painting a deep sea jelly I saw at Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's tricky because colors can look vastly different when dried, so it's a lot more go-with-the-flow than my usual work.

#SciArt #AnimalArt #snowglobejelly #ArtYear #WIP

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A siphonophore with glowing zooids like a string of Christmas lights

Deep-Sea-cember: Festive siphonophore
#deepsea #deepseacember #siphonophore #christmaslights #art

A group of five firefly squid glittering in the dark with blue photophores

Deep-Sea-cember: It's quite a sight to see firefly squid at night 🦑

(Inspired by "glitter" from @montereybayaquarium.org's Deep Sea December prompts)

#deepseacember #deepseadecember #deepsea #fireflysquid #bioluminescent #art

Oh lantern fish oh lantern fish,
You #glitter in the deep sea.
Oh Problematic Lantern fish,
Your body is so shiny.
Diaphus problematicus,
You school and bioluminescence.
Oh lantern fish, oh lantern fish,
Your scales are lovely glittery.

#DeepSeaDecember 🦑 🐟
fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/family/...

#DeepsSeaDecember 🐡

Watercolor painting on black paper of two Snow Globe Jellies (Modeeria rotunda)

A new piece for #ArtAdventCalendar, Snow Globe Jellies (Modeeria rotunda) 🐙 🪼

#Watercolor on black paper.

I recently went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the deep sea exhibit was so mesmerizing. I'm curious as to why some had long tentacles vs short!

#SciArt #FineArt #ArtYear #AnimalArt

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A giant red jellyfish with a little red knit beanie on the top of its bell

Deep-Sea-cember: Big red jellyfish with a little red beanie
#deepsea #deepseadecember #deepseacember #bigredjellyfish #tiburoniagranrojo #art