Sarah Simblet

sarah simblet
Artist and Tutor in Anatomy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Sarah Simblet is a fine artist, writer, broadcaster and anatomist, whose work explores the relationship between science, history and art. She has worked as a tutor in anatomy for 25 years at the Ruskin School of Art and more recently becoming a tutor at Christ Church. Also the author of seven books, including Anatomy for the Artist (2001), Drawing for the Artist (2005), Botany for the Artist (2010) and co-author of The New Sylva (2014).

Self-diagnosed as dyslexic, Sarah realised she was dyslexic from conversations with students. 

 

Over lockdown, Sarah has taken on the challenge of teaching anatomy from her kitchen, re-writing 80% of the anatomy course due to Covid19, by thinking as laterally and expansively as she can, like thinking about the blue whale and how it is able to collapse its ribcage to go into a deep sea dive, or how anatomy of the human head relates to a tortoise shell.

 

 

Sarah Talks about:

  • Seeing 2D images as 3D

  • Writing 4 books, using spatial thinking, putting all the content on the walls to see the connections between them

  • Instinctive ability to build complex dry-stone walls - a practical application of mathematics vs having to retake GCSE maths 5 times.

  • The challenge of reading when words are moving on a page. 

  • Playing a game with Spell-Check

  • Being proud of being dyslexic

 

Please follow the link to the interview.

 

 

“I spent my entire school career being castigated for being the daydreamer- being the kid who was not quite with it [...] ‘oh you're in your own little world’, a constant thing that I was criticized for being an imaginative person who was organising her own thoughts.”

 

“We need to look at and articulate and celebrate the strengths of having this way of thinking and stop the negative language because it is a terrible mantle on peoples shoulders. [...] it's a great strength - I am immensely proud of the kind of brain I have got and I wouldn't swap it.”

 

“I literally wallpaper my room, all four walls of it - there was one book I did which was a botanical book looking at small details of 400 species of plant & I wallpapered my studio including the door [...] I can start to see visual connections, [...] and feel this coming together as a whole.”