First being Last

Mercury III    16"x16" Rives BFK, acrylic, paper collage, heavy molding paste, soft pastel. Actually this is the third in the series of viewing Mercury. Still feeling the role as observer and maybe the photographer of this Mercury surface. I used the red pastel to spotlight and mark the interesting "Degas" crater.   Being so close to the sun, I would imagine sunset would be a calming welcome...wishing the hot searing sun away.

16"x16" Rives BFK, acrylic,molding paste, collage, soft pastel and white ink. Mercury I is my first attempt and it became as a blueprint errr brownprint of the massive craters covering the surface of this planet. I don't know who was in charge of the original mapping but it seems the larger or more interesting craters have been named after our great artists such as Beethoven, Verdi, Homer, Matisse to name a few. I don't get it? Maybe a tie in with impact craters and artists making an impact?? This piece became darker than I had hoped, the white ink places the names here and there along with impact target circles for landing and the red square once again marking a territory or section of Mercury.

More journal pages:
Looked into my personal flight pattern, heading due North with the clear instructions of turning southwest at first sighting of molten Mercury. Sure I'm nervous at the wheel after all this is my maiden voyage to planets unknown. I'm armed to the teeth with resolve and my spine is steel. My heart pounds in solid strokes and my hands grip this uncommon wheel. I'm on my first flight of many. I'm exploring the deepest center of mine and these planets. Take off, landing, navigating practiced at length in my sleep. Now wide awake, stars fly by, backlit space more colorful then I first imagined. Oceans of diamond stars weaving in and out of this tapestry of reflected sky.