From anatomical portraits to water lilies, science has been brought to life through paintings, sketches and sculptures for centuries. Leonardo Da Vinci wasn’t only an artist, he was also a botanist and an engineer. And before cameras, scientists relied on their own sketches to communicate their observations.
University of Maine student Maeve Littlefield has always been creative, and developed a passion for the scientific process late in high school. A sophomore majoring in biology, she found a class at UMaine that combined her passion for science with her sense of creativity.
During the fall 2025 semester, she enrolled in a Research Learning Experience (RLE) that immersed her in the creative side of science communication and encouraged her to take risks by experimenting with new ways to understand and communicate research and science.
RLEs allow students to participate in real-world research, problem-solving and other hands-on learning early in their college careers, reflecting UMaine’s commitment as a learner-centered R1 university and laying a stronger educational foundation and pathway to a meaningful career. UMaine is a leader among the nation’s flagship institutions in offering these high-impact opportunities to all incoming students.
They are funded as part of the University of Maine System’s Student Success and Retention initiative, which is made possible by a $320 million investment from the Harold Alfond Foundation and matching contributions known as UMS TRANSFORMS.
Students in the fall course, “Creative Expression of Science” showcased prints, paintings, drawings, creative writing, digital storytelling and other pieces designed to improve how people engage with scientific concepts. Their projects encouraged each of them to use experimentation as a method of creativity and communication.
Littlefield’s final portfolio included several artworks that used a block printing technique to represent the positive impressions humans leave on the environment.
“Sometimes we get caught up in seeing statistics about the environment and human impact,” Littlefield said. “But we also forget that adaptation and evolution make really resilient communities and populations, and that it’s not hopeless. It makes you want to fight more for these things that are important — that if we do lose them, they aren’t coming back.”
Learning from local artists
The course featured guest lectures from local artists who showcased their creative processes and demonstrated how forms of communication can connect science and research with audiences on a personal level. Having built successful careers at the intersection of art and science, the speakers offered insight into their professional journeys and provided guidance to help students envision and pursue their own pathways to careers.
The first guest speaker, Jordan Kendall Parks, did a block printing workshop during her visit and spoke about how to create environmentally conscious art. One of the co-instructors of the course, Holly White, said most students ended up doing at least one block print for their own projects.
“Her approach to making art that is place-based through an environmental lens really resonated with students,” said White, who is also a Ph.D. student at UMaine. She co-instructed the course with Bridie McGreavy, associate professor of environmental communication.
Other guest speakers included a children’s book author who narrates scientific themes digestible for youth; an ecologist and writer who encouraged students to reimagine scientific representations and consider the context beyond the data; and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at UMaine who creates digital media to honor Wabanaki knowledge and cultures.
“I hope students left with the idea that science communication can be fun, creative and accessible and that you don’t need to be a professional artist to turn scientific ideas into art,” White said. “A goal of the class was to help students take risks, try new modes of expression and treat experimentation as a valuable part of the process.”
Littlefield said all the guest speakers spoke toward the power of perspective, which in turn informed her own work. “I was able to connect that with science and how we talk about how important diversity is,” Littlefield said. “Each species, each part of this ecosystem, is important and has its own role.”
Her piece titled “Underneath and All Around” shows a scuba diver engulfed in darkness except for an illuminated line of sight filled with different aquatic animals. The idea started from an experience one of the guest speakers shared.
Drawing on success stories
Jennifer Smith-Mayo ’25G, a photographer and videographer who works with underwater drones, talked to the class about how to use visual communication in research and storytelling. As a former graduate research assistant for the Maine-eDNA project, she shaped, traced and explored communication and collaborative opportunities for the initiative’s coastal ecosystem monitoring research using underwater drones and virtual reality.
She collaborated with other UMaine graduate students to study how these technologies benefited the outreach for Maine-eDNA by engaging with researchers and K-12 students. Their work suggested that providing a new perspective can help people connect with and understand the environment in a new way.
By working directly with professionals like Smith-Mayo, students in “Creative Expression of Science” saw firsthand how exploring new forms of expression and applying creative thinking can address challenges facing Maine’s communities and beyond, such as the need to better understand and communicate changes in the Gulf of Maine.
Guest speaker Jill Pelto ’15, ’18G combines data, landscapes and ecosystems to communicate the ways in which the Earth is changing. Her work integrates data into artistic backdrops, such as a line chart overlain on a mountain, and was even featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s July 2020 special issue “One Last Chance.”
Pelto, an Honors College graduate, studied studio art and Earth and climate sciences at UMaine as an undergraduate, then stayed for the master’s program in Earth and climate sciences.
Her journey from an interdisciplinary student to a full time artist and small business owner followed a niche path and stands as a testament to the vastness of science communication. While the students’ own journeys would likely look different from hers, Pelto talked to them about the tangible aspects, like income and networking.
“What makes me love what I do is that it gets to be a little bit more broad,” Pelto said. “I love painting and creating the art, but I also love that I get to share it with people, like through class visits.”
Pelto accompanied a group of UMaine students to Iceland in the summer of 2025 as part of the Sea-to-Sky Experience, which she’ll be joining again in 2026. She led them in art classes and created her own work inspired by the journey as students participated in research and learning across the Nordic country.
Her personal connections to her work bonds her to it, and she strives to represent a variety of places in a way that will emotionally resonate with others like they have with her.
Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu
