So I’ve been seduced by resin and watching far too many space videos and Hubble images of nebula. I already love using light in my work so I wanted to produce something that looked like a cloud of gas creating new stars within. A star nursery. It’s taken me months of trial and error.
At first glance it may seem like I’ve just dumped a ton of glitter and pigment powder into resin and given it a stir. I wish it was that easy. These have to be made in layers but hard level lines look artificial. So I swish and swirl the resin around until it cures chaotically adding tiny amounts of powder and glitter teasing out tendrils of colour and flashes of iridescence. I use a flattened toothpicks for the job.
The next step was creating the look of stars forming within the cloud. Enter fibre optics. I cut and bundle the strands sealing them together with resin. I then bend them out into all directions. Finally I cut them down to fit into the mold. At some point I insert them into the resin being careful to set the main bunch into the central point of the mold. In some designs the threads are obvious - in others I’ve hidden the bunch using dark pigments.
At this point I have a sphere of resin with a fiber optic “stalk” sticking out. I paint the last layer black and wait for it to dry. I then cut down the stalk and drill it down flush to the resin. The light is produced by a tiny LED widget. Some pieces have static white light that I’ve dyed. In others I’ve used a rotating RGB colour LEDs. I seal the end and set it in another layer of resin. Fortunately they have a handy ring that also makes it easy to turn on and off with a simple twist. It takes three LR621 batteries equivalent to 364, AG1, SR621SW.
I’ve had trouble uploading the videos so I’ll re-shoot tonight for an acceptable file size and format for Tumblr. Unfortunately trying to photograph these spheres is very difficult. They are glass and very shiny. You can’t see the depth and complexity in a photo. Maybe I need a new camera with a good macro setting.
It’s terrifying releasing a new product so different from my normal work. Are these steampunk? Not really but I hope my work transcends a genre. I want to take light from tacky novelty jewellery into an art product for adults to wear that will amaze and wonder. That is my goal with these. I’ve made several of them so they will dominate my feed in the next weeks. I hope you don’t get sick of seeing them. It’s fantastic using colour again but it’s been a serious financial investment in resin, pigments, equipment, exotic glitters/sequins/foils, molds and LED lights. Some I had to buy in serious bulk. It’s impossible to calculate the hours I’ve spent creating and perfecting these.
I’ve used three different width sizes: 20mm (0.86in), 25mm (1in) and 30mm (1.2in). I haven’t put a chain on some of them. I will give options in type of chain or cord and drop length to buyers. Some may prefer no chain. I’m also thinking about creating a stand turning it into a unique ornament when not being worn. I’m also hoping, as my technique improves, to replicate specific nebula like the famous “Pillars of Creation” image captured by Hubble.
Some may not see any “space” reference. Friends have called certain pieces “an ice cave”, “underwater scene” and “storm clouds with lightening”.
They will be available soon in my Etsy shop. Depending on the covid situation I’m hoping the big music festivals in spring and summer will be happening. It would be the perfect accessory for those day/night events.
Well I enjoyed making the first solar system box - I had to make another. This started as a basic pine box. I stained it, swapped out the hinges and latch, created the “windows” and covered them with mesh and brass frames. You can’t see it but there is a lock washer (it looks like a reverse gear with internal teeth) in each porthole illuminated by mounted LEDs. The six sides are covered with riveted struts, brass features and vintage cut star cabs. The central orbit field has a solid metal ring and twisted wire frame with brass claws. I created tiny brass winders over two vintage gears with round cut outs. Two different kinds of alarm clock winders are located on each side. There is also vintage brass knurled nuts on the sides. Finally there are 3 brass star cutouts above the hinged side.
The planets are driven by an internal wood disk with embedded magnets. I also did a similar thing as the last piece - drilled holes in the lid and disk sitting above 4 LEDs. As it spins the “stars” twinkle. The lights and motor have separate battery packs with switches. Sorry, I’m still not clever enough to rig a single battery pack and external on/off switch. Next one….
I’m really enjoying this foray into these larger projects. It’s my inner prop builder coming out. Unlike the last one - this one will be for sale in my Etsy shop.
Well I’m sitting in hospital unexpectedly - nothing too serious. I was going to post this last night but I was in too much pain.
So this is a proof of concept. The word “magical” is used far too much but that was my ambition. Something of unknown use and unknown provenance.
Proof of concept is the build I make all the mistakes on - motor too fast, planets too large and high, LEDs wiring wrong and ugly battery packs. Internally this might not be saleable quality.
The video isn’t great, sorry. When I get home I will take some still photos of all the decorations and detail. It was inspired by those magnetic ballerina jewellery boxes from the 1960s. She would dance around a mirror when the box was opened.
I initially covered the neodymium magnets and attached the planet on a post. Wrong. They fell down, stuck to each other with such force they ended up broken. So I’ve gone for simple using the magnetic force to hold the metal spheres. I will include several spare magnets and planets.
I’ve been waiting to make these for a long time. Finally had all the ingredients and a bit of bravery. What many people don’t realise is making something new is always a risk, possibly ruining expensive supplies. Fortunately these turned out well. A simple glass locket filled with a vintage pocket watch spring, tiny metallic “planet” spheres, a half round golden “sun” all fixed in place with clear resin. It makes for a subtle yet intriguing piece of jewelry. Understated.
The tiny ones are seriously small - the lockets are under an inch wide. I’ve attempted some reality to the planets: Mercury is tiny and silver, Venus earth’s sister planet is gold and the same size as Earth, Earth is silver, Mars smaller than Earth and copper. The giants start with Jupiter large in copper, Saturn slightly smaller than Jupiter and silver tone, Uranus is gold, Neptune is smaller and silver and finally, Pluto, tiny and metallic black. I can’t keep any accuracy in relation to the size of the sun - it’s seriously huge in comparison.
The larger one, just over an inch wide, was gold but arrived very scratched. Instead of it sitting in my pile of rejects I decided to “distress” the patina to a brushed copper with the original gold poking through in places. It works. It also has a very light dusting of holographic glitter as a star field.
If there is the demand I thought about customising these. With a birth date, time and place I can generate a natal sun chart - where the planets were at the time of their birth. If there is serious clumping I might have to take some artistic license when positioning all the planets. It would require a 2 week build time for supplies and for the resin layers to cure.
If you are looking for a masculine gift I can put them on a black rubber or leather cord.
TheKepler space telescope is our first mission capable of identifying Earth-size planets around other stars. On Monday, June 19, 2017, scientists from many countries gathered at our Ames Research Center to talk about the latest results from the spacecraft, which include the identification of more than 200 potential new worlds! Here’s what you need to know:
We found 219 new planet candidates.
All of these worlds were found in a patch of sky near the Cygnus constellation in our Milky Way galaxy. Between 2009 and 2013, Kepler searched more than 200,000 stars in the region for orbiting planets. The 219 new planet candidates are part of the more than 4,000 planet candidates and 2,300 confirmed planets Kepler has identified to date.
Ten of these worlds are like our own.
Out of the 219 new planet candidates, 10 are possibly rocky, terrestrial worlds and orbit their star in the habitable zone – the range of distances from a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of a rocky planet.
Small planets come in two sizes.
Kepler has opened up our eyes to the existence of many small worlds. It turns out a lot of these planets are either approximately 1.5 times the size of Earth or just smaller than Neptune. The cool names given to planets of these sizes? Super Earths and mini-Neptunes.
Some of the new planets could be habitable.
Water is a key ingredient to life as we know it. Many of the new planet candidates are likely to have small rocky cores enveloped by a thick atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, and some are thought to be ocean worlds. That doesn’t necessarily mean the oceans of these planets are full of water, but we can dream, can’t we?
Other Earths are out there.
Kepler’s survey has made it possible for us to measure the number of Earth-size habitable zone planets in our galaxy. Determining how many planets like our own that exist is the big question we’ll explore next.
: impulsive. you are quick to react to a feeling. the way you feel is intense. it doesn’t have to be rude, mean or bad as everyone always likes to declare it! you feel so passionately, don’t be fooled by the stereotype they have for cancer moons. you are quite similar to it. you have a strong personality, you are admirable. I think people would like to be like you or have your confidence because your image is popular. everybody knows you!
: mothering nature. you value art a lot. stability and structure are very important to you (you might value it even more than virgo and capricorn moons all together!!). you are elegant, ethereal, you remind me of greek statues a lot. you are so caring about the people around you. people love you and come to you whenever they need your advice. you give people comfort. and no I didn’t just say it like that because my mom‘s a taurus moon xD
: the actor/actress. you love the theater. you love the attention and when people turn around and laugh at your jokes. you have such a great sense of humor and you enjoy making people laugh. but behind that playful energy, there is this mastermind. you are naturally intellectual and stand out. you experience social anxiety and lose yourself in that overthinking process often. you rationalize your feelings and overthink, you struggle explaining your feelings to yourself or others because you cannot truly feel them. however, you share lots of personalities. gemini is known to be adaptable and adjusting their personalities to other people in order to fit it which can cause identity crisis. you feel like many people at once. you wanna help other people and your kindness is always present!
: again, mothering nature. I feel like there is no other sign that feels their feelings as deeply as you do. and you understand them, you can define them. you usually hide your own problems to solve your friend‘s problems first. you always put other people first! you struggle speaking yourself sometimes but you are so powerful and thoughtful when you do (cardinal sign energy). you are pure, lovely, uRGH AMAZING PEOPLE IN GENERAL.
: I don’t know about the leo moons in my circle but I need to let you know that YOU ARE STUNNING WITHOUT BEING LIKED BY EVERYONE. lots of confidence (even if you feel empowered by compliments from other people and might crave them). you strive for perfection and might beat yourself up for it. you are trendy, have a great fashion sense… I‘m sure you are more than that but I have to get to know you a bit better! you wanna become the best version of yourself and having leo as your moon sign can make you have a battle with yourself and others at all times. you concentrate on yourself, your achievements and ambitions a lot and generally like entertaining other people.
: I‘ve met many virgo moon people as a gemini moon and y‘all change opinions fast! one day you are like “I hate it” and then you are like “I love it! nvm”. again, lovely people. the deeper someone gets to know you, the crazier you get. you might come off as cold and detached from other people but when you care, you care deeply. you embarrass yourself often and I love it. because I think it takes you a lot to finally become comfortable with the people around you. you are very selective when it comes to your social circle and also give great advice. you have an opinion to almost everything and spend a lot of time in your mind. you might have experienced a missing father figure in your life (for gemini moons it’s a missing mother figure). anxiety might be a problem as well. nevertheless, you think before you speak.
: LOVELY PEOPLE. the libra moons I have met until now had a downphase in their lives that I actually never would‘ve thought about. balance is a big thing for you and keeping your peace. the downphase I‘m talking about might be about you wanting to be liked by people, about stressing yourself because of the expectations society has, and so on. BUT I DON‘T UNDERSTAND IT? you are so good at socializing and a fun person. VERY funny person even. you care about your friends deeply and I‘m sure, whenever I text you, you are always quick to reply. a flirty personality though. similar to leo moons, you gain confidence by the reassurance you get from your environment. you don’t need it baby, you are amazing all the way.
: scary. underdeveloped scorpio moons can be so hurtful to their environment. but it’s not even your fault? many scorpio moons have a tough childhood where they are seen as the rude, distant and direct (mean) kid, when they aren’t. your emotions are intense. you are direct and honest. you say it how it is and everyone that doesn’t agree can leave. but you are very careful with your opinions and when you talk, people remember. you have amazing humor, make a great best friend (you really do, when you are close with someone, you are the best friend ever). you have graceful, feminine energy and it takes you a lot to trust someone. you are quick and inconsiderate when removing people from your life that seem “suspicious”. sometimes I just wanna cuddle you no matter if you feel comfortable with it or not. I want you to tell me all of your traumatic experiences, drink tea and eat cookies with you while we watch tv. ALSO! when you love someone,… oh dear. that person is lucky. but I‘d be scared a bit. you naughty naughty SKDKKSKDKWK HELP
: for once, don’t joke about your trauma and tell me. you are so nice and kind and there whenever I need you. you listen and wanna solve a problem, even if you cannot physically put yourself in people‘s shoes. you might come off as insensitive but I know you struggle with even feeling your own emotions. one of the funniest moon signs I know. maybe you don’t have it all together at all times. similar to gemini moons, you might have a difficult relationship with your mom. she‘s there but also isn’t. you deserve much more recognition for your personality. I know sagittarius moons that can be irresponsible and crazy, people whose actions are unpredictable. but nobody blames you baby. even if you feel lost at times, I‘m sure it’s all the independence you were given at a young age. you struggle a bit with structure but you are STRONGLY opinionated about topics that interest you. I think religion, spirituality or philosophy are topics you are most interested in. you seem like a huge extrovert but I‘m sure you like being home all by yourself enjoying your own company. people know you and like spending time with you. lively people!
: you had to grow up faster than all the moon signs. also a caring energy, but more father-like. you know how to do it and you are independent. you are the partner to cancer moons and together you two share this father-mother dynamic in the zodiac. you are giving, honest, you compliment your friends a lot. you send love to your loved ones out of nowhere and it always reminds me of how much I should appreciate you more. sometimes you are afraid to speak your mind even though you KNOW you can do it and how. you find comfort in nature and dark academia as I have noticed and care deeply for other people. with caring for other people I also mean that you get concerned over the people around you; even the ones you aren’t close with. you might think “what kind of a mother would do that??” and emphatic with justice and debates more than most people (similar to aqua moons). you don’t like standing up against authority figures because you don’t like rebelling but I’m sure you will if it’s needed. you have a great solving mechanism and cope with animal memes. I love you and I fall for you.
: AAAAAARGH THE PEOPLE THAT DESERVE EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD. okay, now the reason why I‘m saying this is because of my own personal experience and because my sun is in aquarius and these people understand me like no one else. you are so funny, so open-minded, open for new, invested in political, philosophical and unusal topics and spend lots of time with figuring out a theme. you wanna hear all the sides of an argument, educate yourself more,… WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE YOUR INTELLECT. you are caring and empathize with people easily. you work for equality, justice and you want to make this world a better place. you are an enrichment to this world, that’s it.
: lovely. nice. cute. beautiful smile. sometimes annoying. but I like it. can be manipulative as they understand people‘s emotions VERY GOOD (perks of having water signs). sensitive. people with quick reactions. careful with their words, yet bring their message across being honest and not hurtful towards other people. however, some might carry a victim mindset. self centered. often doesn’t mean any harm but causes misunderstandings or issues by not being their true self or decisive. like, you might not get their point of view when they are underdeveloped. when they are developed, they are very very easy to get along with, they listen to you, understand you (also on a spiritual level!) and empathize with you. they offer help without you asking for them. grateful to have pisces energy in my life, not even gonna lie.
Edward Emerson Barnard, Mars, photographed with the Yerkes Observatory 40-inch refractor telescope, 29-09-1909.
Above: Syrtis Major region, September 29, 3: 45 (UT); Below: Same; 4: 25 (UT). Each exposure is the superposition of three to five original frames. This reduces grain and brings out fine halftones.
