September 2022 Employee Newsletter

CROSSROADS

Meet the Beetle

invite closer looks, which is perfect for young visitors and their families.”

Brian Johnson’s response to that is typically modest Brian: “I don’t know about magic, but if I’m given enough time and enough freedom, I really like to work.”

When you walk through this year’s Hoosier Art Salon exhibit, take a good look at the giant green beetle in one of the display cases. That sculpture is the work of Brian Johnson, our lead scenic fabricator, who received a $750 award as a first-time exhibitor.

Brian, who joined the museum as a volunteer almost 10 years ago and became a full-time employee a year and a half later, made the beetle from what he calls “found materials.” The bulk of it is a bear’s skull. The cranium is the abdomen. The thorax is the mandible cut in half and the opposing parts glued together. He used bear claws for the pinchers. A muskrat skull, placed backwards, is the main part of the head. The color is the result of many coats of oil paint.

This level of creativity may sound surprising, but not to the people who work with Brian.

“Brian adds a special magic to our exhibitions,” Chief Officer of Engagement Brian Mancuso says. “They’re often handcrafted pieces that draw you in and

Brian, who is 67, grew up on southwest side of Indianapolis. He had a scholarship to Herron School of Art, but he chose to attend Bob Jones University in South Carolina. He stayed in South Carolina for most of his adult life, moving back to Indianapolis in 2011 when his mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Brian has many talents – he was art director for a publisher for 20 years and was a freelance scientific illustrator for chemistry, biology and earth science textbooks for 30 years. His background is in art, but his interest is in paleontology.

He’s also written a another in the works. As a volunteer at the museum, he did microscopy work identifying fossils.

As lead scenic fabricator – which he says is “a fancy term for making cool stuff that you can’t buy” – his handiwork is all over the museum, including the Conestoga wagon in the 19th State exhibit on the second floor. The top blue part of the wagon is over 200 years old. The bottom part, built by an Amish craftsman, was just 10 years old when Brian was asked to distress it to make it look 200 years old, and paint it red to “match” the blue. No easy feat! He also retouched the mastodon seen emerging from the ice in the Frozen Reign gallery to make it look more realistic.

You’ll soon see his latest project that is all about scents in the museum’s newest space, Gallery One. The experience team asked him to create a display dealing with smells and the memories they trigger. They told him which scents they wanted, and he illustrated them – with oil and gas to represent the

the Beetle Maker)

What was the best vacation you ever took?

Best is hard to measure, but as a paleobiologist who works in the context of the Ice Age, a vacation backpacking in southern Argentina and Chile where I saw and heard towering walls of crystal-like blue and white glaciers for the first time was an awesome experience.

What are you most proud of in the last year?

Getting a job with and starting here at the Indiana State Museum.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT: CATALINA TOMÉ

Catalina Tomé is the curator of paleobiology for the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. She began working for the museum system in August. As the curator of paleobiology, Catalina collects, preserves and researches the fossil record of vertebrate animals in Indiana. Depending on the day, she can be found either at her desk working or in collections examining, identifying or measuring fossils. She lives in Marion County, close to Irvington.

What’s your favorite season and why?

While I love different things about each of the seasons, recently I’ve been able to enjoy exploring the outdoors, biking and hiking most during the spring and summer.

What are you most looking forward to?

I am not sure when this will happen, but I am really looking forward to my first fossil collection or excavation with ISMHS and digging up new fossils to help expand our collection.

What is your favorite random fact?

Kangaroo rats are desert inhabitants that can go their entire lives without drinking a drop of water.

How do new state gun laws affect the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites?

You might be aware that Indiana gun laws changed as of July 1, and the State of Indiana no longer requires a handgun permit to legally carry, conceal or transport a handgun within the state.

So, how does the new state gun law affect ISMHS? Not much really. Although the law has changed, the following places remain off-limits when it comes to carrying a concealed weapon in Indiana:

• In or on school property

• On a school bus

• In or on property that is being used by a school for a school function

• Private schools

• Head Start schools

• Preschool

• On an aircraft

• Controlled access areas of an airport

• During the annual State Fair (must lock gun inside a vehicle)

• Shipping port (controlled by Indiana Port Commission)

• A riverboat casino

Fall Safety Tips

1. Be cautious while driving, and do not drive distracted. Put your phone down.

2. Don’t be fooled by leaves – falling leaves pose a hazard as they can be slippery!

3. Dress appropriately for the weather, and be prepared for unexpected cold weather.

4. Wash your hands constantly. This is the season for colds and flu.

5. Wear something reflective when walking or running at night so you are easily seen.

6. Use caution with space heaters, and exercise caution when burning candles.

7. Test your smoke detectors and change the batteries if needed.

The highlighted information applies directly to ISMHS. As a quasi-state agency, we are allowed to post signage that states “no weapons allowed on premises.” If someone brandishes a weapon in one of our properties and refuses to leave when asked, we have the right to contact police.

Security Manager Dustin Chavez

Director of Security Tyriee Love

of FEEDBACK DON’T BE SCARED THIS HALLOWEEN SEASON

Feed·back | \ 'fēd- bak \

• The transmission of evaluative or corrective information about an action, event or process to the original or controlling source.

• A rumbling, whining or whistling sound resulting from an amplified or broadcast signal (such as music or speech) that has been returned as input and retransmitted.

Is it any wonder that we use the same word to describe constructive criticism and that ear-splitting, screeching sound that happens when a microphone gets too close to a speaker?

They both can cause a similar internal cringe and instinctual movement away from the sound. Constructive criticism tends to cause sweaty palms and racing hearts, and unfortunately, many of us take a passive approach to delivering feedback to avoid discomfort. But feedback does not have to be a painful process and can be your most powerful tool in creating positive relationships at work and at home.

Receiving feedback sparks a physiological response in our bodies that might explain why we shy away from feedback so much. “When we face criticism, rejection or fear, when we feel marginalized or minimized, our bodies produce higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that shuts down the thinking center of our brains and activates conflict aversion and protection behaviors.”

(Judith & Richard Glaser, HBR)

This release of cortisol is similar to what happens when the brain engages the “fight or flight” response and can cause a person to be uncharacteristically emotional or reactive. The effects of cortisol linger in the body for up to 26 hours! Now that is scarier than any Halloween costume.

While you cannot change the body’s autonomic sympathetic nervous response, you can help program the body to see feedback in a different light.

Successful feedback is correlated to existing relationships.

For feedback to be the most effective, credibility and trust must be in place. Feedback outside of a relationship based on these elements is exceedingly difficult to give and receive. Intentionally setting about to strengthen relationships within an organization create a foundation for feedback to be exchanged and accepted.

Build feedback into routines.

Many people are uncomfortable giving and receiving feedback and, to make themselves more comfortable, they procrastinate or push off offering feedback until either an annual review or a situation has escalated to emergent proportions. One way to reduce the stress response that occurs when receiving constructive criticism is to build it into daily routines. Asking for specific and timely feedback on a regular basis can also build a culture where feedback is not just accepted but sought after as a means for improvement.

Your Deep End Talent Strategies HR-On-Demand team is here to help you consider feedback and even script conversations. You can reach us at 866.HR.FOR.ME or IN-HR@deependstrategies.com.

COCKTAILS & CADAV ERS

The adult Quirky Queries series returned to the Indiana State Museum with “Cocktails and Cadavers” and a soldout crowd of 100 on Sept. 16. Meredith McGovern, ISMHS arts and culture collections manager, shared funerary objects from the collection including cooling tables, embalming tools and human hair wreaths. Participants also visited with community partners Unseen Press, Crown Hill Heritage Foundation and Ivy Tech Community College Mortuary Science Program. A Victorian-style portrait backdrop with props provided the perfect photo opportunity!