Quake Shake Network
Earthquake Warning & Pencil/Coloring
From the Artist:“I wanted to create a harmony between linear and organic themes in this piece. The city is rendered linearly and is more rational, while more ethereal things, like the electromagnetic fields, are rendered organically and intuitively. I want viewers to see this balance between the rational and intuitive, and appreciate that it’s this balance that helps create successful technology.
To bring the piece to life I first did some research and then began a sketch process to develop a rough composition. Once I had the composition prepared, I drew the final by hand. I only use mechanical pencils and ink, so my images are always black and white. After the final drawing was finished I pulled the image into my computer to add color.”
— Micah Lidberg
The Science
“The recent earthquake and the accompanying tsunami in Japan caused both loss of life and global economic slowdown. To date there is no system to predict earthquakes. With hopes to change that, Ananya Mukundan, a student scientist from Michigan researched using magnetic field sensors to predict earthquakes.
Low-frequency, low-intensity magnetic fluctuations occur hours or days before a quake. These fluctuations are a million times smaller than the Earth’s magnetic field and have previously required expensive low-temperature sensors to detect. Ananya was able to develop ultra-sensitive, low-cost, room-temperature magnetic field sensors that could be placed around the world and networked to predict earthquakes.”
The Artist
Micah Lidberg is an illustrator based in Kansas City, Missouri. He received traditional education at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and participated in an exchange program with the University of Brighton in England. He has been practicing art professionally for 5 years but maintains his passion for the arts has been lifelong.
