Hello!  My name is Maris Wicks (that'’s me up there). You might be wondering “Why is that a drawing of Maris and not a photograph?” Well, I have an answer for you: I am an illustrator! I spend most of my waking hours drawing comic books about fun science-y things (primatology, human anatomy and physiology, hydrothermal vents …to name a few).  I was fortunate enough to hop onboard the RV Coral Reef II this past October and accompany the New England Aquarium in its collecting endeavors.

Oh, and I should also add: I’'ve been working part-time at the Aquarium for the past seven years as a program educator (teaching programs like this).

I had two objectives for this trip: a.) learn as much as I could about coral reef ecosystems (research for an upcoming comics project) and b.) document as much as I could (via sketchbook). This included helping myself pack for the trip:

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

Since as long as I can remember, I’'ve used illustration as a means to communicate, document and celebrate the world around me. I log a lot of hours behind a desk in my office, and I thought it might be a nice change of pace to do a little field research for my upcoming project about coral reefs. Plus, WHO DOESN’T WANT TO LIVE ON A BOAT AND HANG OUT WITH FISHES IN THE BAHAMAS???

Speaking of the boat, please allow me to introduce to you the RV Coral Reef II, which is owned by Shedd Aquarium (my home for 10 days!):

And the interior:

I am relatively new to diving; I completed my scuba certification over this past summer. Diving had been a “bucket list” activity for me (pun intended …since we used A LOT of buckets on the boat), and putting my newly-learned skills to the test was super-fun. Here is some of the additional gear that we brought with us on dives:

And here'’s a little breakdown of one of the methods we used to catch fish (and some inverts):

Okay, now that I’'ve got all my gear, let’s take a moment to explore the reef!  Here is just a fraction of the species I observed on this trip:

I should point out that the the term "“honkers"” refers to larger fish…, though sometimes it is hard to judge the scale of things underwater!

Truthfully, I would’ have stayed on that boat forever but, like all good things, the trip came to an end.  My legs sang out in protest:

And, once all of our fishy friends were packed up and shipped up to Boston, I had to do the same.

I didn'’t just get to observe and explore coral reefs and their inhabitants, I got to work along side a group of truly amazing human beings. I went into the trip hoping that it would help make me a better illustrator, but I came out of it feeling like it had made be a better person. So long, everyone, and thanks for all the fish!  Until we meet again….

Cheers,

Maris