Galileo Inspiration

Artist Statement

This quilt is an artistic depiction of the Moon taken from the 1992 Galileo false-color composite remote sensed image. The image was created using different filters from the Galileo Orbiter. The surface design of the moon piece was created using fabrics, paint, and thread painting to enhance the different areas of its surface. This color theme, though it is exaggerated due to the different filters, helps to determine the surface compositions of the moon. I discovered these amazing satellite images while in a Remote Sensing class I took as I was pursing my degree in GIS (Geographical Information Systems). The vivid colors and their outstanding variations are what first drew me to these representations. A naturalist and environmentalist at heart, I greatly appreciate the advantages remote sensing offers our society to help us combat our contemporary environmental issues, especially in the wake of global climate change.

Red depicts the lunar highlands; blue to orange indicates ancient volcanic lava flow of the lunar seas, and explosive volcanic eruptions are denoted by the small purple areas.

The moon has several geographic areas. Tycho Crater is at the bottom center. Copernicus Crater is just above and left of center of the moon itself. Mare Tranquillitatis is the darker blue area at the right, which is richer in titanium than the Mare Serenitatis, slightly smaller area adjacent to the upper left of the Mare Tranquillitatis. The blue and orange areas on the left side of the moon represent lava flows in the Oceanus Procellarum.

Materials

Batik and hand dye fabrics with Dream polyester batting. Thread painting with 35 & 50 wt. So Fine and Valdani threads. Setacolor & Lumiere acrylic paints.

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