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.

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."™

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

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.

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.

Now you can have one of your own. In blown glass, no less, with a flame and everything. This is the sixth in a series of Steampunk Rockets that has been a big hit. Who knew!?

We’ve got a couple of big ones that are really retro Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon rockets with bulbous bodies and curvy, super-pointed noses that will be coming along in the next few weeks. They’ll be about 10 inches (24.4 cm) tall when complete. This latest one is 3-finned, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) tall and is really cool; with ribbed fins and tiny oval windows.

I can’t tell you how well received they have been. They certainly are beautiful, if I do say so myself. One sold to a friend and client just this afternoon. It’s the purple cone shaped one in the top row, center of the January 26th post. We’ll wrap him up and package him carefully and send him off to his new home first of the week.

Always a bittersweet time when one of your creations leaves. I know that a lot of people may not understand that but part of an artist is in each work that is produced. It comes directly out of you; from imagination and feelings through expert technique into reality. When I paint, I am copying the image from out of my mind as best I can. Sometimes, it isn’t as good as I see it. Sometimes, it’s way better than I ever imagined. It’s never exactly the same; only I know what it looks like in its “original” form.

While the cold-working is progressing on the new wine stoppers and small paperweights, I thought I’d share a bit about the Great Paperweight Project. A friend of ours, Jon Ramer, has been encouraging us to get into the Art Glass Marble market for some time. A few months ago, he invested in our effort, funding the first 40 or so marbles to get things going. He has pick of ten of his choosing, but has yet to tag any.

As you may have learned by this time, I do things big. Wasn’t intentional this time, as we were making marbles of less than 2″ diameter. Trouble is, molten crystal is the consistency of warm honey. It doesn’t thinly coat—it coats! Even if starting an internal color structure wee small, by the time you get two or three over-gathers, you’re up to a 3″ ball right quick.

One day you're up; next day you're down. When things get rough, sticking one's head "in the sand" by paying attention to one's work can help keep you from freezing to the proverbial flagpole.

Worked on the chandelier design after doing studio photography of a Lifetime Achievement Award sculpture to be sent off to its new home today. Always a bittersweet moment when one of our children leave for the outside world. Just like offspring of the human variety, sometimes we get to see them again but not often enough. We created them, poured ourselves into their being and then they're gone. Some go to the other side of the globe. Received word today that one of our large art glass marbles had arrived safely in England and his new owner and fellow space artist, David A. Hardy, is very pleased. He sent a shot of it amongst his dinosaurs and awards atop the CD collection. We liked this one because he reminded us of Wall-E.