Mar

When Other Artists Like Your Stuff

The Deepsea Anemone Table

It's Great! There are few who could be more critical and discerning. Their observations mean a lot because, in one way or another, they've been there.

Just had the sincere pleasure of reading a colleague's blog post over at Under Nevada Skies, the blog of artist Julie Rodriguez Jones. The post is about our most recent and our very next large blown glass commissions and how she has watched us online over the months making the former—a glass table base that weighs 200+ lbs. comprised of 560 separate orbs and spirals of colored blown glass supporting a 6 foot 10 inch diameter 3/4" thick glass top weighing 370 lbs. OOF!

Fellow Space Artist Robert T. McCall Passes at Age 90

Posted by: BJ in colleagues

An inspiration to many space artists over the years, and indeed for some the person who started them in their art careers by way of example, and also to the many men and women who make the exploration and education of the realm of space possible every day, has become one with the Cosmos. He was a Fellow of the International Association of Astronomical Artists; of which I am also a Fellow, inducted the same year, and Chair of the Board of Trustees. Bob was among the six recipients of the IAAA's most prestigious honor first bestowed in 2000, the Lucien Rudaux Memorial Award; named for French astronomer Lucien Rudaux (1874-1947), who wrote and illustrated his own books with paintings that resemble the Apollo photography long before we had any real hope of capability to travel off the planet.

The Technology of Fire

Posted by: BJ in philosophy, writing

The Technology of Fire
The United States Space Program and its Place in History?
Originally published on my space art website in 1995. Still holds true today; now more than ever.

Each time I observe or participate in a spacecraft launch I wonder at all that we have been able to do with The Technology of Fire.

This earth is born from the cauldron of the stars.
All of the elements that are in it
were formed in those intense fires.
We have a fire inside that burns ever so gently
in comparison with the stars.
It is the same fire, but it burns in a very special way.
We are born from this earth.
We rise up out of it and walk around,
soon to return to its womb.
All of the elements within us are scattered
throughout the Universe.
We are the Universe come to contemplate itself.

An Artist in an Engineer’s Body

Posted by: BJ in art, engineering

Or is it the other way around? Every so often, I receive queries in my mailbox asking about various topics. Today, I was asked a question about the path that I took and how it affected my life’s work:

“I am a freshman at Brigham Young University Idaho, and I’ve wanted to be an artist all my life. However I’ve never had any problems with math or science and love problem solving. My brother informed me that I might look into engineering rather than art. I really do like the idea however here is the problem, I LOVE ART, and I don’t know what field of engineering I could go into that would involve both. How did you get started? Was it as an artist or an engineer? I really need some advice. Please help.”

Often an interesting conundrum. Interesting enough that I decided to answer as a blog post, so that many folks might benefit.

The Making of the 21st Century Orrery — Glass Blowing

Posted by: BJ in art, blown glass, sculpture

This entry is part of a series, The Making of the 21st Century Orrery »

Next, we'll move into the process of creating the blown glass planets and Sun. The planets are supported by curved, hollow carbon fiber arms; the longest being 3 feet (1m), so the orbs must be very light. Just as in the Celestial Winds Blown Glass and Carbon Fiber Mobiles that we make, that have arms as long as 20 feet (6m), saving every ounce of mass that is way out on the end is very important. You’re probably asking why we choose to pay that mass penalty when plastic could be used instead. Answer is simple:

"There’s nothing quite like glass."™

Why I Hate Varnishing Paintings

Posted by: BJ in art, painting

A colleague in England posted today that he had a harrowing experience varnishing a painting when the varnish began dissolving some of the paints and started spreading them across the rest of his painting.

I’ve always dreaded the varnishing operation. You painstakingly coax every individual millimeter of a work to get them all to sing together in concert and it’s finally finished. Then, you risk the whole darn thing on one swell foop by having to apply a substance that ubiquitously affects the entire thing all at once.

Two similar disasters come immediately to mind.

The Third Airborne Tank Division

Why are the Disks of Stars Not Seen in Telescopic Views?

Posted by: BJ in astronomy, science

Every so often, I receive queries in my mailbox asking about various topics. Today, I was asked an astronomy question that intrigued me:

"Under enormous magnification, such as the HUBBLE – WHY ON EARTH don’t individual stars, when focused on, look absolutely ENORMOUS. I mean – focus on a GALAXY, and you see an object otherwise ‘apparently’ tiny, blown up to be quite visible in detail. However I have yet to see a SINGLE IMAGE of ANY star, that makes it look even REMOTELY like our SUN. Please explain to my satisfaction and I will be DELIGHTED."

This is perhaps a not so uncommon misconception. So, I set about to compile the answer, replied in detail and I share it with you here:

Space Art: The Vehicle, The Connection

Posted by: BJ in art, painting

I ran across a couple of articles today, one by Paul Gilster of the Tau Zero Foundation on Centauri Dreams entitled Space Art: Reviving the Imagination and another by Jeff Foust of The Space Review on When Space and Art Intersect. It’s really good to see the resurgence in this area in so many circles and I thought I’d take a little break from The Making of the 21st Century Orrery series and get back to my original passion that started all this — Space Art. That is, Space Art in the classical sense that people know it; 2D paintings.

The Making of the 21st Century Orrery — Glass Casting

Posted by: BJ in art, cast glass, sculpture

This entry is part of a series, The Making of the 21st Century Orrery »

Glass. It’s captivating. It’s mesmerizing. Attempted by many; mastered by only a few. It can be a harsh teacher. Working with it is exhilarating and humbling. It requires planning and intense concentration, while at the same time also requiring one to being open to the serendipitous. It’s unmatched and worth every effort.

The Making of the 21st Century Orrery — Woodworking

Posted by: BJ in woodworking

This entry is part of a series, The Making of the 21st Century Orrery »

This being one of our larger productions—but not the largest by far—we thought we’d give you a peek into what went into building this creation. We know that a lot of our stuff is in a Black Box but decided that this time we could crack the lid a little.

As you read in the previous post, we begin all of our commissions with a detailed, full scale 3D engineering model. This allows us to fully realize the design before commencing construction, know what it’s going to look like, and it affords a complete set of high resolution dimensioned parts that can be separated out and built that we know will fit. (I don’t like surprises.)

Who Am I ?

Artist-Engineer:
Blown Glass Sculptor, 3D Modeling, Film & Animation, Space & Astronomical Artist, Production Designer, Technical Illustrator, Writer, Constructor of Kinetic Sculptures Employing Exotic Materials— Predominantly for the Aerospace Industry.

~ A True ~
Renaissance Person

"Not a day goes by that I don't learn something new."