April Neander 🏳️‍🌈
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aineander.bsky.social
April Neander 🏳️‍🌈
@aineander.bsky.social
1.4K followers 350 following 95 posts
is a scientific artist, micro-CT professional, and interested in the intersection of art, science, and technology. https://linktr.ee/AINeander
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aineander.bsky.social
Lily is determined to get in the box
January 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I've been very much focusing on making things lately - it's been good for my mental health. Been sewing and #mending lately for a bit of something different. My current works in progress are some elbow patches on a chambray shirt and a dress I'm #upcycling to a duster/surcoat!
A blue chambray shirt featuring elbow patches with a white and yellow zigzag design. There are some embroidered zigzag lines, but there will be more when I finish it. A turquoise garment is laid out on a large table. It is dress-shaped, but has been opened up along the front like a jacket and also opened up along the sides to the waist. There are strips of light blue bias tape along the center opening.
January 20, 2025 at 4:45 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Here is the support surface. Not too impressed, but perhaps worth experimenting with and tweaking parameters at some point. If only multi materials didn't take so very long to print
The posterior view of a black, 3D printed skull. The surface at the back end, where supports were, is rough.
January 1, 2025 at 10:46 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Playing around with water soluble PVA support for the first time! At this point I'm not wowed by it, but maybe I'll feel different once I clean all the supports off. #3Dprinting
Four black skulls supported by clear-ish PVA supports on a build plate. Cat skull printed in black with PVA supports still attached. The support material fills the eye socket and project off the back. Opossum skull printed in black with PVA supports still attached. The support material fills the eye socket and project off the back.
December 19, 2024 at 9:21 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I also sell prints and stickers of some of my illustrations on RedBubble! Find me at aineander, same as here. 6/6
Black and white illustration depicting a scene from the Early Permian near the edge of a small lake. In the foreground is Dimetrodon eating a small Casea, while a second Casea scurries off. In the background is Edaphosaurus at the water’s edge. The flora includes calamites, pteridosperms, and sphenophyllum. In the upper left corner is a red circle that reads “Prints Available on RedBubble! @AINeander” Three holiday cards artistically depicting the plants Nutmeg and Mace, Clove, and Star Anise sit on a wooden table with a sprig of pine in the upper right and candy canes in the upper left. A red banner reads “Botanical Holiday Cards Now Available at redbubble.com/people/AINeander” Two stickers on a the cover of a brown, square notebook. One sticker is an opossum skull that looks like half of it is made of gold and the other half is green glass, the other sticker is more abstract of a blue object that has lots of holes. Text reads “Prints and Stickers Now Available on RedBubble! @AINeander”
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I sometime also post about cats, gardening, and politics. 5/6
Photograph of smiling woman holding up a freshly-harvested, overgrown beet as big as her head. Photo of garden harvest of red things: red bell peppers, red raspberries, and several types of red tomatoes. These are laid out on a gray countertop in plastic tupperware containers and a basket. Close up photo of a comfy cat curled up on a black and red blanket. He looks like he is smiling. A cat with her tongue stuck out in a “blip” has a funny expression. She sits on a brown couch with a gray and black blanket, with a blue wall behind.
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
More recently, my art has taken a new direction, utilizing anatomical structures from microCT and different maker technologies to create recognizably biological abstract pieces. I like playing with light and new materials like #3DPrinting. 4/6
Photograph - A lit structure in a dark room stands out. It has many slices lit up in rainbow colors that creates the form of an opossum skull. A dark brown, 3D printed form that looks organic, almost like topology of a landscape, but is actually the occlusal surface of a beaver tooth has a light turquoise patina on parts of it. A white biological form with multiple 3-dimensional swirls is lit from behind on a background of moss. A black frame contains a portion of an animal skull. In the eye socket there is a glowing orb. The background of the frame is moss. The moss leans against a red, orange and turquoise mural.
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
A couple years being hired as an illustrator, I became lab manager, tech, and go-to person for the UChicago PaleoCT Lab, where we microCT all sorts of cool things! #uCT #microCT 3/6
Photograph of a Phoenix microCT scanner. It is an enclosed boxy-shape about 5ft tall with a small window, a computer attached to the front, and red warning light on top. Photograph of 5 jars containing bat specimens in fluid. Behind them you can see a University of Chicago gargoyle out the window. Photograph of a large sabretooth tiger skull. A hand props it up at the bottom and gives it scale - the skull is about three times wider than the width of the hand. A bundle of long bones packed with foam into a clear plastic cylinder, ready for scanning.
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Though sometimes I do other illustrative art for fun! Mostly of animals. Lately I like playing with color. #animalArt 2/6
Sketch of civet done in graphite and white paint-pen on brown paper. Neck up, profile with it facing right. Watercolor painting of a gray fox, with the head positioned in a 3/4 view. The image is built up with multiple color washes. Also in the picture is the travel palette and brushes I used. Gouache illustration of a hog badger, a black and white animal with white markings around its head and neck and a pink, hog-like nose. Portraits of the artist’s two cats done in colorful oil pastel. The left cat is on a blue background and looks directly at the viewer, the right cat is on a creamy-yellow background and looks off a bit to the left. The use of color is playful, layering brighter colors on the page.
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Hi Folks! Looks like it’s time for a reintroduction!

I started my career as a scientific illustrator and visualizations person (3D, animation, etc.) at UChicago focusing on early mammals. #sciArt 1/6
Black and white illustration depicting a scene from the Early Permian near the edge of a small lake. In the foreground is Dimetrodon eating a small Casea, while a second Casea scurries off. In the background is Edaphosaurus at the water’s edge. The flora includes calamites, pteridosperms, and sphenophyllum. Photograph of mounted opossum skeleton with colorful 3D printed models of the middle ear bones. There is a row of anatomy and mammalogy books in the background. A rendering of reconstructed 3D model of Haramiyavia. The teeth and a majority of the ramus are rendered in a brown material, taken directly from CT data. Much of the coronoid and anterior-most part of the jaw are rendered in transparent blue, showing the parts that were modeled. An illustration of early mammal, Microdocodon, perched at the axis, where branches meet, on an extinct Wielandiella plant, eating a scorpionfly. In view at the upper portion of the image are two red fruit structures at the center of a whirl of leaves. The light falls on the mammal and the fruiting structure in front, and transmits light through the leaves of the branch in the background which is in shadow. Other scorpionflies fly around the scene and a leaf falls.
December 1, 2024 at 8:12 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Some days you just need cute cat pics right?
Tabby cat, laying on his back looking up at the camera with adorable puppy-dog-eyes. He's at a green scratching post, stopped mid-scratch in this cute moment.
November 12, 2024 at 8:54 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Unveiling the unseen! My first art tabling event featuring microCT-inspired creations will be at Words & Wonders on November 9th. Join me at Second Unitarian Church for readings, performances, and visual art starting at 3pm.
#ChicagoArt #SciFiArt #WitchyArt #DarkAcademia #MicroCT #STEMArt
At the center of the image is a flier in rainbow colors that reads “Words and Wonders: a 2U Literary and Art Showcase. Saturday, November 9th at 3pm. Second Unitarian Church 656 W Barry Avenue, Chicago, IL www.SecondUnitarian.org.” Around that sign are two pieces of art that include a while swirly biological sculpture, and a large metal tooth with blue and turquoise patina.
November 5, 2024 at 9:47 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Don't miss my CT-derived art debut at Words & Wonders! Join me Saturday, November 9th at 3pm at Second Unitarian Church. Be the first to own one of my unique anatomical pieces. 656 W. Barry Ave, Chicago, IL.
#chicagoArtist #sciArt #bioArt #boneArt #oddities #witchy #skulls #skullArt
At the center of the image is a flier in rainbow colors that reads “Words and Wonders: a 2U Literary and Art Showcase. Saturday, November 9th at 3pm. Second Unitarian Church 656 W Barry Avenue, Chicago, IL www.SecondUnitarian.org.” Around that sign are several pieces of art that include slices of an opossum skull engraved in acrylic and lit up in a rainbow pattern, a while swirly biological sculpture, and several stickers.
October 25, 2024 at 2:44 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I’ll be selling my CT-derived, anatomically inspired art for the first time on Nov 9! Performance art at 3pm and visual art at 4. I’ll have stickers, #3Dprinted lucky rabbits feet and larger projects for sale.
#supportartists #sciArt #spookyArt #bioArt #boneArt #oddities #witchy
A flier reading “Words and Wonders: a 2U Literary and Art Showcase. Saturday, November 9th at 3pm. Second Unitarian Church 656 W Barry Avenue, Chicago, IL www.SecondUnitarian.org” is framed by colorful, 3D printed rabbits feet skeletons and a purple iridescent cat skull.
October 21, 2024 at 9:44 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Cat skulls work in progress. These are essentially a proof of concept for a future, larger project, but are looking pretty cool on their own. Testing joining two part prints and sandable filler-primer here.
#WIP #3DPrinting #skull
Two 3D cat skulls covered in gray filler primer with some sanding tools Two 3D printed cat skulls, one is whole and the other is split in half across the cranium
August 16, 2024 at 2:01 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I got to show some of my work at an art and music fundraiser event for the Bonokollie Foundation and I had a blast! It was so inspiring to see what the other artists were working on and chat about art. It was also gratifying to see people's reactions to my art and to hear what questions they had.
Photo of an art show. Artworks are hung on or sit in front of white walls in a space with wooden floors. In the foreground two pieces of sculptural art sit atop black stools and a third piece of multimedia sculptural art hangs between them.
August 8, 2024 at 12:18 PM
aineander.bsky.social
My latest piece from the artists at the Field meetup group! My new easel worked great and I enjoyed practicing color.

#watercolor and #gouache #pleinair
Watercolor portrait of a leopard
July 31, 2024 at 1:54 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I just finished my transit easel and I can’t wait to use it! My social media handle is inscribed on the tray so when people take pictures they’ll be able to find me on social media afterwards. Lots of fun to design and build!

#pleinair #diy #3DPrinting #craft
A small 8”x10” easel made from plywood and green 3D printed parts is set up in front of my bookshelf. My social media handle “@aineander” is inscribed on the tray of the easel, which can be hooked into the easel at one of three heights. The top of easel can be raised or lowered with a screw.
June 23, 2024 at 5:30 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I think this is the largest gooseberry harvest we’ve had! Into a pie they go with homegrown strawberries!
I'm holding a Tupperware full of green gooseberries in front of the bush they came from. Gooseberries and strawberries cooking down in the pan with lots of juicy red syrup. Finished pie topped with cinnamon sits on a baking tray on my stove. The discarded aluminum crust protectors are around it.
June 17, 2024 at 8:03 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Black raspberry season is here! My favorite!
My hand can just be seen in frame holding some black raspberries with the bush in the background. Many red, not-yet-ripe raspberries are on the bush.
June 12, 2024 at 1:09 PM
aineander.bsky.social
This is might be my first installation piece! Designed to help liven up and bring some color to a drab hallway, the pattern of the 3D printed panels is based on stained glass throughout the building. A fun little side project, it's nice to have my work out there for people to experience. #3Dprinting
3D printed panels in color changing red, blue, and yellow filament. The pattern is composed of beveled square shapes with diamond shapes at the corners.
June 3, 2024 at 6:35 PM
aineander.bsky.social
I made a lucky rabbit’s foot for our #microCT lab!

Thanks to MorphoSource, the UMMZ, Roger Benson, and Cody Thompson for making the CT data available to researchers and artists!

#3Dprinting
Rabbit foot bones 3D printed in sparkly purple is wrapped and hangs by golden thread. Rabbit foot bones 3D printed in sparkly purple is wrapped and hangs by golden thread.
May 17, 2024 at 3:17 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Round two with the vinegar and salt patina! This time, I experimented with a copper and PLA composite and I got not one, but three distinct patina phases! There's the familiar turquoise from the bronze, joined by a lighter turquoise in one of the basins, and a truly stunning, vibrant lapis blue!
A copper opossum tooth with patina. The patina has a natural and irregular pattern across the tooth. Most of it is a turquoise that is darker than the copper, but there are parts with a much lighter turquoise and a vivid blue. It is sitting on a light colored holder on a background of moss.
April 5, 2024 at 2:28 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Experimenting with hot patina on a 3D printed beaver tooth! This is printed in bronze & PLA composite, heated with a torch, and treated with copper nitrate. While some melting occurred, the effect is quite interesting!
A dark brown, 3D printed form that looks organic, almost like topology of a landscape, but is actually the occlusal surface of a beaver tooth has a light turquoise patina on parts of it. 🐡
March 25, 2024 at 3:53 PM
aineander.bsky.social
Ready to go places!

What I really want is to share these pieces with people. They are so much more interesting in person - photos just doesn’t capture the light adequately. If you know of a venue that might be interested in hosting these pieces or open calls for art, I’d love to hear about it!
Two custom, foam lined boxes sit on a light wood table. They each contain a piece of art, the one on the left has a white bone structure on a background of moss, the one on the right is a series of acrylic panels that have been laser engraved to make a 3D structure of a skull. The lids of the boxes sit behind with images of the pieces when their LEDs are turned on.
March 19, 2024 at 1:17 PM