Hello my friends!
Today I have something very special to share. Most of you (I dare say all) don’t know it, but I am a closet science geek. I’ve loved physics simply forever, and astronomy since 3rd grade when I dressed up in tin foil and milk jugs for a biography book report on Neil Armstrong. My big science-y “claim to fame” was a whallop of a scholarship to Carnegie Mellon to study chemistry. Though it had more digits than I could count, I chucked it in the recycling bin simply because I had never heard of them, and who would want to go to college in Pittsburgh?!? (yes, believe you me I’ve since thought what you’re thinking right now.) But it’s all good, I became an artist and I’m doing the chemistry thing in my basement anyway, and gainful employment doesn’t really buy you happiness, now does it?
So this past week I received a call asking if I wanted to be part of a show — an invitational featuring the work of a dozen artists, each depicting a planetary body. Seemed like a cool thing to be a part of, so I chose the moon and set out to create a piece that somehow interwove a visual representation of the moon with a taste of the science that surrounds it.
This has been one of the easiest large pieces I’ve ever made, not sure why. The initial sketch took five minutes, and was exactly what I wanted on the first try. I cut the zinc freehand, perfect circles and curves with no broken blades or mistakes (okay one, but I’m not gonna point it out and my daughter swears I’m the only one who will see it). The pieces fit together like a puzzle, which means if I *had* gotten anything wrong (which to the best of your knowledge I didn’t), I would have had to scrap the whole thing, swear a lot, and start fresh.
Here is the piece, from inspiration to near completion:
original sketch:
full size mock-up:
transfering to metal:
putting together the puzzle:
the nearly finished piece:
I still have little bits and things to finish, and then must glue it all to a board to prepare it for hanging. But I must admit I am oh so pleased :} Pleased enough to be toying around with some ideas for a series ~~~
if you’d like to see this piece in the flesh, mark your calendar for September 11th and plan head over the the West side of the CLE. More details to come! :}
with peas and luv……………………..Chris