In Search of Saturn

18"x18", photo collage,crackle paste, gel, acrylic, tissue paper print and wax thread.
Beginning such a long time ago with a photo of an ancient Saturn and then returning to create 'the story' of  planet and myth...not so easy. I kept telling myself to keep moving it forward and at the end of the day I would have a new piece and a new direction. Several days working and I have ended here with this piece. I have added 10 moons of the 17 in the order of  their orbit and both the writing of Galileo and the photo of Galileo spacecraft. So I danced between ancient art, science of now and science of the 1700's.
This has been an interesting series for me. Not only do I love the idea of space but I have always felt I have been living here (all of us actually) in this solar system as my wider more expansive home. I get such a feeling when I know I'm gazing at Venus or Jupiter!  I'm sure the discoveries are in there infancy but I have learned more than I had in my school years and creatively it has been rich and satisfying. I'm off to Uranus and truly feeling very far from Earth and  the Sun.

Io's Photostream

14"x14" acrylic, heavy molding paste, photo copies and acrylic crayon, white gel pen.

The last of Jupiter's 4 important moons or at least important at this writing. Io's scientific story begins with the gigantic pull of Jupiter and the opposite pull by Europa and Ganymede which results in Io's surface heaving up and down like an ocean tide. This is one explanation of Io's volcanoes hurling and exploding sulphurous material at an amazing force. Io is one active moon which rivals Earth in volcanoes. On its pizza shape surface there is sulphurous snow and ice and huge lava beds and below all that might be a sulphur ocean?

The myth once again has Jupiter as fooling this young heart of Io and once again Juno (his wife) seeking revenge with magic and such. This story even brings in Mercury all to keep the chaos going and going and going!
These small photos of Io were taken by the Galileo spacecraft and I added them as multiples because they looked so alone and perfect and together as a review of the icy and volcanic beauty.
Looking at Saturn now and I hope to change it up...another vantage point....another interpretation...something but not sure what or how?