Hello,
I’m Aastha
Soni !
It all started in middle school when I would watch detective shows and medical dramas while working on my drawing skills and trying different techniques and media. Eventually these diverse interests became intertwined when I was assigned a project to create hand-drawn organelle flashcards. These interests developed throughout high school and strengthened again when I presented an illustrated poster about cardiomyocytes.
When I started my undergraduate education at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), I was fueled by those fond memories and sought out opportunities that combined art and science. I even ventured abroad for Anatomy in Italy and Medical Humanities in Oxford. In Italy, I learned about Vesalius’s dancing skeletons, the Medici family’s patronage of the arts, and all the rich history of the Italian Renaissance that ultimately led to the creation of anatomical illustration. This knowledge enabled me to think critically about how those artists would recreate the abdominal cavity, muscles, and other body parts. In Oxford, I explored narrative and graphic medicine, created a personal 55-word story, and practiced visual thinking strategies. I was also able to visit various historic and educational sites that offered me more opportunities to investigate the intertwined nature of art and science.
These diverse experiences and my passion for art and science led me to the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Medical Illustration program at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). As an aspiring medical illustrator, I am empowered to embody a modern-day “Renaissance (Wo)man” and Oxdonian by merging artistic expression with scientific understanding.