Topics will range from clay to wetlands to photography and poetry, and the evening will include a musical performance from tabla musician Alan Simon.

Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased at twolined.com/art.

Biographies of the featured artists and scientists are below.

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Saikat Chakraborty with “Moose” (Provided photo — Saikat Chakraborty)

Michele Drozd

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Michele Drozd is the co-founder and executive director of Craigardan. Her belief that the creative process helps us imagine and build a better world has led to numerous community and social justice initiatives that use cross-disciplinary collaboration as a tool for systems change.

Drozd received her BFA in ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and went on to work with diverse artists studying material science, design, tile-making and sculpture. At Craigardan she focuses on institution-building as a creative practice while supporting other artists. She enjoys working with start-up businesses and small organizations when she isn’t making pottery, renovating old buildings or traveling the world by bicycle with her husband.

Drozd’s talk will weave together the science and art behind ceramics — starting with geological origins, a brief historical “scientific/alchemy” context, and the modern day material science which allows potters to make and fire their work. Drozd wants people to be intrigued with clay as a material and an art form so that they give it a try.

Keeley Jock (Provided photo — Keeley Jock)

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Saikat Chakraborty

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Born and raised in India, Saikat Chakraborty came to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies. He received his PhD in chemistry from University of Rochester where he worked on the generation of carbon-free solar fuels from water.

He is a resident of Saranac Lake and has been a faculty member at Paul Smith’s College since fall 2021. When he is not in class teaching chemistry, he can be found outside with Moose, the dog, and his camera.

Alan Simon (Provided photo)

Being an international transplant in the Adirondacks with a background in scientific education, he is able to experience the natural world in a uniquely delightful way and is passionate about sharing his outpourings with the broader community. To this end, Chakraborty employs expressive photography and creative writing to tell stories about the environment at the intersection of science and the arts. His images strive to be metaphors for his experiences, not documentary evidence, of being outdoors.

“I will employ my images, centered mostly around the boreal wetlands ecosystems of the Adirondacks, to emphasize the importance of artistic experience, leading to creative expression, and how it diverges from documentation and scientific modeling,” Chakraborty said. “I will highlight why this divergence is significant, and yet not contradictory to understanding, loving and caring for these special places. While I will speak from personal experience, the talk will be supplemented with philosophical and scientific texts, interspersed with poetry. My hope is that listeners will walk away with an expanded horizon of artistic and scientific pursuits, and a renewed willingness to find their own expressive voices in their individual, unique life experiences.”

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Keeley Jock

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Keeley Jock grew up in Akwesasne, from her strong belief in the Seven Generations philosophy taught to them at a young age, it moved them to obtaining a B.S. in environmental science from Paul Smith’s College, with the dream of doing something bigger than herself in this world. With a keen interest in wetland ecology and botany, Jock wrote her undergraduate thesis on indigenous knowledge informing EPA standard wetland assessments to help improve regulations for highly impacted/less pristine wetlands.

Jock’s talk will explore wetlands, indigenous knowledge and the value of knowledge keepers.

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Alan Simon

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Alan Simon has been playing the tabla for more than two decades. Simon has been under the tutelage of Ustad Bashir Khan, an exponent of the Punjab Gharana.

Simon is currently studying with Ustad Taufiq Qureshi (the younger brother of world renowned Ustad Zakir Hussein.) He graduated from the National Academy of Performing Arts (Pakistan) with a major in tabla performance.

After graduating, Simon delved into percussion from different regions — Afro-Cuban and the drumset. He transposed tabla rhythms and wrote interlocking parallel rhythms for the instruments he played. With his diverse knowledge in percussion, Simon has been globe-trotting and has performed in Pakistan, India, Thailand and the U.S.

Simon has had the honor for performing for the President of Pakistan, Pervaiz Musharraf. He also has also performed at prestigious venues like Harvard University, Cornell University, National School of Drama (New Delhi, India) and many more. Simon has also been featured in the news, radio, TV in Pakistan, India, the U.S. and Saranac Lake.

The Art and Science speaker series is held in the Hotel Saranac ballroom and is supported by Northern Power and Light, Hotel Saranac, Trudeau Institute and Adirondack Health.