Welcome! periodically.blog features my creative endeavours in the world of chemistry. Aside from its chemistry connotations, ‘periodically’ seemed like a good name as it gives me the freedom to post regularly or every so often. If you choose to follow this blog by email (see below) I can promise you won’t be bombarded! Post archives are organised into three strands:
Framed by a Smoking Gun is my biography of Colonel B D Shaw who, like Simon Mayo’s Itch, was fascinated by chemistry from an early age, particularly by any elements or compounds he could cause to explode. He made his name as a demonstration lecturer and, with his flashes and bangs and crisp explanations, inspired many school children to pursue their studies further. He dedicated more than 50 years to the Territorial Army, serving in both World Wars and spending five years in captivity in Germany. His life story, both personal and professional, is remarkable and I hope you will be convinced to read the book. To learn more about this remarkable man, go to About Framed by a Smoking Gun
Periodic Blackwork is a project I began in 2019, the International Year of the Periodic Table. I am using the embroidery technique of blackwork to create a periodic table sampler with a different filler for each element. The aim (now achieved) was to find some symbol or pattern to represent every element, whether a symbol used historically by alchemists or chemists or something to represent the origin of its name, its discoverer, its place of discovery, its structure or its properties. I would like to exhibit the complete work – please get in touch if you are interested. To learn more, including materials used and sources of inspiration, go to About Periodic Blackwork
Misc is for everything and anything else, mixed together – other chemistry-related craftwork, activities and observations.
periodically.blog 