With steady hands, Ren Daley gathers her apparatus for the procedure. The neuroscience sophomore wields the needle carefully against her subject, stopping every now and then to ensure absolute precision. Setting down her tools, Daley runs her eyes over the smooth yet rigid surface.

After final touches, Daley prepares to donate her creation, an embroidered landscape, to the Chautauqua art gallery. 

On Friday, Daley and other College of Natural Sciences students showcased and auctioned their work at the Chautauqua art gallery as a part of a fundraiser held by the Polymath Creative Collective. As a student-run organization under Polymathic Scholars — one of CNS’ honors programs — the collective exhibits artistic creations by CNS students. 

Anusha Dabak, design committee chair and co-founder of the collective, said she wants her organization to foster creative expression and community service.

“I feel like it’s so much more intimate and meaningful when you know that you’ve created your own art to help these communities,” neuroscience junior Dabak said.

The collective’s exhibition at the Student Activity Center ballroom marks the beginning of Chautauqua, Polymathic Scholars’ annual panel discussion over a chosen theme. For this year’s theme, “The Edge of Knowing,” all proceeds — about $1,700 raised from the gallery — went to Austin Kids Can, a local non-profit that helps give quality education to children in underserved communities.  

“‘The Edge of Knowing’ is all about the next step in knowing more about the world,” said Neha Yawalkar, a biochemistry sophomore and the collective’s logistics committee chair. “The first step in knowing more about the world is education.” 

Yawalkar said around 30 to 40 students in the honors program contributed art, with a total of 70 pieces put up for auction and 30 up for display. 

“What it boils down to is wanting to know who the community is and connecting with the people who are around us,” Yawalkar said. “I want to learn about their skills and talents and tell them (their) skills are valuable.’”

From singing to printmaking, the exhibition showcased a variety of artistic talent among the CNS community. Daley said the gallery allowed her to connect with her fellow student creatives on a deeper level, gaining a more profound understanding of their identities beyond their STEM career paths.

“It almost feels like you’re seeing a more vulnerable part of them outside of the way you normally see them,” said Daley. “It’s really exciting to see other people get excited about their work.” 

Chemistry sophomore Katia Petrosky contributed crocheted platypuses to the fundraiser. Petrosky said Polymath’s collective effort establishes a precedent for the convergence of scientific pursuit and artistic expression. 

“This is a good chance for other people to see what Polymath is about,” Petrosky said. “An event like this defines who we are as a program; We’re not just STEM, we’re also about the arts and humanities.”  

Grateful for the tireless efforts of everyone involved, Dabak said she feels in awe of how much the organization has grown.

“It was just incredible to see it all come together,” Dabak said. “If it weren’t for this event, I don’t think I’d ever known that so many of my fellow CNS honors students have these artistic talents.”