Katherine Crighton

@katherinecrighton

life goal: infamous recluse. sometimes I write things, too • a Sibling on the @NoStoryIsSacred podcast • experimental archaeology from the Scientific Revolution • interactive media & game design • katherinecrighton.com • they/them (basically bees)

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Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· 8d

I keep planning to actually properly write up an announcement about this, BUT: I turned my MFA capstone report into an exhibition book full of photos & process & feels about my apothecary research-filled "500 year time capsule" installation. And you can buy it: katherinecrighton.com/entering-an-...

A stack of slim 11x8.5 coffee table style books. The cover photo is of a cluttered, candle-lit, fabric-covered table against a stucco wall. The title reads "Entering an Apothecary's Dream: The Making of an Art & Sciences Installation", by Katherine Crighton.

A slim 11x8.5 coffee table style book is open to a half-title page that reads "Entering an Apothecary's Dream" in small caps. A manicule points to the right beneath the text.

A slim 11x8.5 coffee table style book is open to final section of the book, showing a two-page spread where the left page has a large close-up photograph of slip of printed paper in a jar (the paper reads "To Someone Far Away, Who I May Never Meet: Here is something I want you to know." The image bleeds over onto the right page, where in large, distressed type the section title reads "The 500-Year Time Capsule", around which smaller introductory text is set.

A slim 11x8.5 coffee table style book is open to a pair of pages within the book, though the right-side is more visible. There are 5 photographs, two from the installation and three from the making of it, as well as text and captions. Of particular interest is a floorplan that has had lines and circles draw across it, as if tge design of the installation within the room was based on the secret canons of page layout. (Spoiler alert: IT WAS.)

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 12

My very long #Readercon day of programming is at an end, and I am still absolutely delighted by the lovely work of @dbcalligrapher.bsky.social, who transcribed quotes from my presentation on The Saga of Blood Marmalade IN THE PRETTIEST POSSIBLE MANNER

Quotes transcribed by the Driveby Calligrapher, laid out in a loose pattern. Starting from the top row, left to right, they read, "they lived in the same observable universe we do." "Weird research Blood Marmalade betrayal" "Cry into your soup because of your new cursed knowledge" "Aww yiss, a reference list!" "I am now a (very shitty) chemist! ...in a historically accurate manner" "Kerchiefs: all the cool people are wearing them" "We should all be weird about research to avoid poisoned knowledge"

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 4

Tapping the sign again

The second half of the "Don't Make Me Tap the Sign" meme from The Simpsons. A screenshot from the cartoon of a yellow hand tapping a blank white sign, the rext of which reads: "Hbomberguy posted a 4 hour breakdown of the nuances of plagiarism and its long-term harm to the creators of original research in 2023 and I really wish it would stop being relevant."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 1

#Readercon folks! Remember the 500-Year Time Capsule project from last year? Want to know what happened with that? I'll be in Author's Alley this year, and I'll have a limited number of THESE in hard copy, which tells the tale:

Book cover for "Entering an Apothecary's Dream: The Making of an Arts & Sciences Installation". The cover art is a photograph from the Workshop portion of the installation, with chemical glassware, Early Modern art, and ad hoc apothecary tools cluttered together on a corner riser loosely draped with rich cloth. The light of flickering LED candles give glints to the glassware and metal reflectors, and makes the room's stucco walls glow warmly.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Nov 21

Photograph of a newspaper held up with the thumb visible in the corner. The masthead, in a distressed typeface, reads THE END TIMES. Beneath it is ISSUE NO. 1, THE VERY MOST OF THE LITTLE WE KNOW. The date is cut off, reading only AUGUST 5, YE. Of the visible articles, the headlines are EDITOR'S NOTE, Events, Births, and Trade. Within the Editor's Note, a visible line reads "'Hope' is the operative word here."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 5

Truth in advertising:

Photo of a scribbled-in notebook with several words crossed out (all notes related to last-minute additions to my MFA installation) lying open in front of a several condiments and a small advertisement for the Denny's rewards program.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 4

There are more, but: They're all time capsules that exist all around us. And I give guests the chance to add to another, one last time... so come see, and share, and support arts-based reseach while you're at it: wp.wpi.edu/apothecaryca...

A photograph of a large glass jar with several slips of paper stuffed inside it. Distorted through the glass, but still clearly legible, each bears the words: "To Someone Far Away, Who I May Never Meet: Here is something I want you to know."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 4

And it wouldn't be my dream if The Workshop wasn't there, with some of the ways true reconstructions of household apothecary recipes are no longer possible...

A photograph of vintage glass bottles on heavy tapestry fabric, lit by LES candles from behind, each holding words of illegal or otherwise forbidden ingredients: ambergris, spermaceti, musk and musk bladders, and red coral.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 4

The full title of this art installation is "An Apothecary Dreams: an interactive time capsule, inventing science past, present, and beyond". There are several elements within it-- the previous was from The Talking Books. It's also in the background in this photo of The Garden.

A photograph of a large homegrown pale pink and vibrant yellow streaked dahlia, surrounded by fresh greenery. Its pot is green pottery, standing on gold-embroidered floral fabric. A small LED candle is visible, as well as a mounted standup of something with words pasted on it. In the background, collaged standups are lit by tiny wire lights beneath a painting of a Edwardian era man.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 4

October 10 and 11 are the only dates-- but here are some glimpses of what's inside:

A photograph of a large upright collage of pages from Early Modern published works. Prominent is a slightly raised page, the preface of Robert Hooke's MICROGRAPHIA (1665). A string of tiny wire lights stretches above it.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Oct 4

Were you at #Readercon this year? Did you see--or pop a message into--The 500-Year Time Capsule? Book an entry time to see the final collection for it, at my capstone installation "An Apothecary Dreams": wp.wpi.edu/apothecaryca...

A photograph of a rain-speckled red garden rose, at twilight; in the background is Higgins House in Worcester, Massachusetts: a Tudor Revival-era house with visible crenelations, narrow windows, and half-timbered exterior, lit warmly from within.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Sep 23

Hey did you know that booking an entry time to my art installation this October is a very inexpensive way to see the inside of a lovely Tudor Revival house AND ALSO support arts-based research by a grad student in these Troubled Times? WIN-WIN wp.wpi.edu/apothecaryca...

Photograph of three Early Modern botanical illustrations mounted on cardboard (coriander, cistus, rose de province), standing behind the 1561 etching "Odoratus (Smell)" from THE FIVE SENSES by Cornelis Cort after Frans Floris I

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Sep 21

Now at last it can be told: If you're in the Massachusetts area (or plan to be!) on October 10th or 11th, book an entry time to see the culmination of my degree: an immersive art installation about my experience with history, science, time, and humanity: www.tinyurl.com/an-apothecary-dreams

An Apothecary Dreams: an interactive time capsule, inventing science past, present, and beyond. Book a timeslot: Friday, October 10, 2025; Saturday, October 11, 2025. Higgins House, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Aug 9

The ad is on page 101 of the official Edinburgh Fringe program for those interested in learning how tooooootally ethical Anthropic is--available for free at the Fringe Shop on High Street

'Poor me'-style copy from Anthropic on a plain newsprint page, with an illustration of a sun or asterisk reminiscent of the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe art. The title reads "Late bloomer"; the body of the text reads: "If you feel like the AI boom has left you behind, Claude is here to help. Some might call Claude a 'late bloomer' because it wasn't the first AI chatbot released, but that was intentional. Anthropic's researchers prioritized responsibility and trustworthiness in their approach to developing powerful AI systems, recognizing the significant implications for society. They anticipated the far-reaching impacts that AI can have on our future and took time to make sure Claude was reliable before it was deployed.
"Claude was built with clear principles that guide every interaction, backed by some of the most advanced AI safety research in the field. These principles ensure Claude remains honest, thoughtful, and ethical--putting trust and reliability first. It's here to amplify your ideas and help you thrive.
"Before it was ready for prime time, Claude's outputs were extensively tested for bias, hallucination, and moral implications. Thousands of prompts were analyzed to ensure consistent, helpful, and ethically sound responses. This obsession with quality means Claude communicates with a natural tone, understands context better, and navigates tricky moral dilemmas more thoughtfully. It's an approachable tool that speaks your language, respects your data, and shares your values. We hope it improves your work and life.
"Claude may be fashionably late to the party, but that's okay. It's designed with people-centric values and future-focused principles. We think that makes for a pretty sweet (and principled) conversation.
"ANTHROPIC
"We build AI you can trust."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 18

At #Readercon34? At the end of the freebie table find an opportunity to contribute to The 500-Year Time Capsule...

Photograph of a table in the main concourse of Readercon 34 in Burlington, MA. On the corner is a kraft-paper standup sign, written in Chancery cursive, that reads "The 500-Year Time Capsule". A large glass jar stands next to it, with a pen looped around its mouth and partially filled with folded notes. In front of the jar and sign are two blocks of text, one of which is a brief explainer and the other of which is a longer blurb explaining the project. Surrounding these are a set of example messages, and then piles of small note pages to use to write a message-- one side of which is blank, and the other side of which reads "To Someone Far Away, Who I Will Never Meet: Here is something I want you to know"

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 17

Aaaand one more

Photograph of the first spread of volume 2 of "The Apothecary's Pocket Companion", with a brief introduction to the importance of learning the shift from Galenic humoral theory to the development of chemical pharmacy in order to better reconstruct recipes.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 17

Some interiors, for interior people

Photograph of pages 1 and 2 of the abridged first printing of "Monition of Cursing". The left side is the 1525 Scots original; the right side is my translation (significantly aided by the Older Scots dictionary at DSL Online). The text is near the start of the monition, with the address to the congregation; important words have been rubricated throughout. Contains page numbers and running head, and the Scots and English pages have slightly different historical fonts.

Photograph of pages 1 and 2 of the abridged first printing of "The Principles of Magic". The text starts with the portion of Frazer's work that describes Sympathetic Magic; important words have been rubricated throughout. Contains page numbers and running head.

Photograph of interior of "The Incorrect Medieval Coloring Book," showing a woodcut of a person proudly standing beside a cart and table filled with books; the person appears to have a face covering. In a hollow gothic font surrounding the image, text reads "I hath been masking since the FIRST plague". The paper is newsprint to mimic children's coloring books; images appear on only one side to help prevent bleedthrough. Additional pages possible due to type of paper used.

Photograph of the first spread of volume 1 of "The Apothecary's Pocket Companion", showing a table of measurement symbols and their meanings, how to read numbers in recipes, and additional shorthand and acronyms.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jul 17

People coming to #Readercon34! I will have with me a limited number of my micropress zines of historical Stuff for $5 or less! Find me and they can be yours

Photograph of octavo-sized stapled minizine of first printing (with COVER TYPO, drat it) of "The 1525 Scots and English Translation of the 'Monition of Cursing'" by Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow. Handdrawn black/white lineart cover, inset with historical Death woodcut with vermillion eyes.

Photograph of octavo-sized stapled minizine of first printing of "The Incorrect Medieval Quotes Coloring Book". A green cover with the title surrounding a sample image from the book: a woodcut of a flower with the words "Babe hold my flower for I must slappen them" in a hollow gothic font.

Photograph of octavo-sized stapled minizine of first printing of "The Principles of Magic" by Sir James George Frazer (abridged from 'The Golden Bough'). Handdrawn black/white lineart cover, inset with a pair of woodcut hands raised beside vermillion cresent moons.

Photograph of the first two octavo-sized, folded minizine volumes in "The Apothecary's Pocket Companion" series, both of which are on the chopping block for cover-redesigns before the next volume drops. Volume 1 regards "How to Read and Translate Recipes" and Volume 2 regards "Galenical and Chymical Pharmacy", both are written under the penname M. Hinaccurate, and each contain a different hidden poster if unfolded.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Jun 27

Today's favorite discovery: Albrecht Dürer's useful guide to human proportions via proto-moonwalking.

Scan from Albrecht Dürer's Four Books on Human Proportion (1528) of a naked human with a crosshatched background sloping forward, a matching skeleton/stick-figure amalgam matching the pose to demonstrate the essential proportions of the person in motion.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 31

Today's favorite discovery: Nicolas Culpeper feeling Feisty about the misprinting of one of his books (and making it everyone's problem)

Screenshot from Nicolas Culpeper's 1652 THE ENGLISH PHYSITIAN that reads (with modernized spelling): "Chapter 13. Of Troches. The Latins call them Placentulae, or little Cakes (and you might have seen what the Greeks call them too, had not the last Edition of my London Dispensatory been so hellishly printed, that's all the Commonwealth gets by one Stationer's printing another's copies, _viz._ To plague the Country with false Prints, and disgrace the Author) the Greeks [Greek lettering], [Greek lettering], and [Greek lettering] they are usually little round flat Cakes, or you may make them square if you will."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 24

Okay, last one... when I found. her. THE ALEMBIC

A photograph of a cluttered shelf in a recreated home at the Plimoth Patuxet Museum. Next to a chalice and behind a wooden box is a beautiful pottery alembic, looking a little like someone described Gonzo the Muppet to an Early Modern artisan, except a buff brown color and ready to distill some rosewater at a moment's notice.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 24

MORTAR. PESTLE. BIG.

A photograph of a very large and beautiful ceramic mortar with a wood and ceramic pestle, displayed with others of its kind at Fortum & Mason, London. It is, per its signage, a Milton Brook 21 centimeter mortar and pestle set and it only costs £55.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 24

it's a searce :begins pointing emphatically: A SEARCE

Top-down photograph of a glass display cabinet, looking into the bowl portion of an apothecary tool called a "searce." A searce is composed of a wide shallow bowl with a small hold in the bottom covered with wire mesh that leads to a hollow stem.

Side view of the same searce, showing the stem portion more clearly, as well as the delicate scalloped edging of the bowl. It is essentially a very clever little sieve. A display card is partially in shot. It reads "Wooden searce, Late 17th century".

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 24

MORTARS AND PESTLES

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· May 24

I have spent my life PREPARING for this MOMENT Have a collection of odd and joyful things

Photograph taken at an angle of a scratched brass plaque screwed into the greyish wood forming the exterior of the covered bridge at Old Sturbridge Village. It reads, in the simplicity of the heartfelt and probably entirely true:
IN MEMORY OF
ROBERT W. REEDER I
AND HIS LOVE OF COVERED BRIDGES

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Apr 9

Reminder that I AM VERY NORMAL ABOUT SCURVY

A person lit by the blue lighting of an overnight flight, looking very bright-eyed at the camera while holding up Stephen R. Brown's SCURVY: HOW A SURGEON, A MARINER, AND A GENTLEMAN SOLVED THE GREATEST MEDICAL MYSTERY OF THE AGE OF SAIL-- and, tragically, a pen.

A photo of a page spread of Stephen R. Brown's SCURVY covered with penned in circles, arrows, and several stretched out notes shrieking about positivist paradigms disrespecting the work of the past.

A photo of Cochlearia officinalis, aka Heart Trail, aka SCURVY GRASS, specifically sought out in the medicinal garden of the ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS in LONDON with a handy little sign labeling the leafy green for the VERY NORMAL PHOTOGRAPHER: "The essential ingredient in the recipe for scurvy grass drink, listed in the Governors' Minutes for St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1640," and a quote regarding the Apothecary allowed to make it.

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Apr 5

Deeply amused that I can read the measurements in this where the volunteer transcriber couldn't:

A portion of a handwritten recipe in a household receipt book started in 1704 and added to by several hands, named "Francis Smith Medical Recipe Book", from the Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts and Cookbooks database. It reads: "beat them in a mortar very small then put mutton Suet lbiss: beat all together then put a pint and"

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Mar 24

All this to say: Last night I attempted the "T"s from this collection of 1650 recipes and yes, I think they will do nicely.

Photograph of verso page of handwritten book of medical recipes from the collections of the Royal College of Physicians, entitled "A loving Mite cast into the Treasury for the Chymicke and Spagyrick Art, or a plaine progresse therein chiefly collected and composed for the lovers and sonns of that Sacred Art"

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Mar 9

I'M TALKING THESE BAD BOYS

Sideview photograph of what looks like a wide, shallow, wooden cup with a scalloped rim on a clear plastic riser. Not visible is that this is actually a two-piece apothecary tool: the bowl part, which has a center hole covered with a metal mesh, can be removed to reveal the searce's hollow "stem" full of sieved powders. A museum sign, cut off in the foreground, reads "Wooden searce. Late 17th century."

Katherine Crighton@katherinecrighton· Feb 15

You've been murdered, who do you want on the case? (Look, I won't have to deal with him, and he had a 100% solve rate. He closed cases!)