On Saturday, June 27, SONSI members had a unique opportunity to visit the Ramsay Wright Zoological Laboratory on the campus of the University of Toronto. We spent about four hours sketching from and photographing a wide array of zoological specimens: from bones and skulls, to taxidermy mounts, to dissected wet specimens carefully mounted in what are now antique jars. The collection included a wide array of invertebrate as well as vertebrate specimens. A jar of fetal armadillos, the skull of an albatross, the leg of a llama, the spines of a sea urchin; all these and many more held our attention for a very peaceful, enjoyable day of sketching in the spacious lab with plenty of tables and lamps. For a science illustrator, that lab is heaven! Turns out it was a great day for being indoors, too; it rained for the duration of the event. I think we set a record for the most SONSI members sketching at one time.
Ramsay Wright Zoological Lab, June 2015
For those members who missed this event; fear not, we plan to return in a year or so!
Many thanks to member Dino Pulerà who arranged this wonderful opportunity for us, and to Dino’s friend Gerry who spent his Saturday afternoon in the lab so that we could too.
— Emily D.