The Forbidden Quest
Blues,
whites, fiery reds and yellows --
overtaking the sky from dusk 'til dawn --
fascinate me, whether in my dreams,
or longings for that something more,
whirling nebulas, mysterious planets and stars I barely see
... my Beaded Art Doll, my celestial reflection, I name you ....
Galilea.
She stood
on the rim of the Yshtan Crater as each moonrise left the horizon, waiting
for the ninth moon to appear. She prayed that the astral winds would
be favorable. It was the eve of the Prime Solstice, the only night possible
to view her sacred object, and her telescope stood ready at her side.
When the
ninth pale moon broached the horizon, Galilea's heart quickened. She
placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. Everything depended
now on the astral winds. Her theory would be scoffed at once again if
she could not produce evidence of her find. Her very existence would
be threatened if she failed in this endeavor, for the Kaeloan Council
had forbidden her to search the universe for an object that could not
possibly exist.
As the
ninth moon reached its zenith, a cold wind began to flow around her.
Galilea shivered, more in anticipation than from the chill. Patiently,
she watched as the veils of cosmic debris lifted and afforded a pristing
view of the universe that lay beyond her own star. The astral winds seemed
stronger tonight and she was nearly overcome with the breathtaking sight
that unfolded above her.
Telescope
Galilea
focused her telescope on a distant galaxy, searching for the rare blue
planet that she must prove existed. She had armed the telescope with
a special device meant to gather that proof and she tempered her eagerness
to trigger it until the exact moment the planet came into view. When
she located the star at the core of the galaxy, Galilea began a slow
sweep of the millions of objects swirling around it. Though many of these
objects were much larger than the one she sought, none of them exhibited
the qualities necessary for life to exist.
At last,
she found the blue planet. Galilea steadied the telescope and prepared
to trigger the device attached to it. Behind her, she heard threatening
voices and shouts above the din of the terrestrial vehicles climbing
the road to the rim of the crater. The Kaeloan Council began to storm
the rim.
Face with Headdress
Galilea
stood fast and defiantly took another sighting through the telescope.
Confidant that the blue planet was still in its sight, she fired a beam
directly at it. The beam captured the blue planet and returned a holographic
image of it to her outstretched hand. As the blue planet turned on its
axis, white clouds swirled across the poles and the outlines of land
masses and blue oceans. The planet's atmosphere shimmered in the palm
of Galilea's hand.
The members
of the Kaeloan Council gasped in recognition of what Galilea had done.
She had proven that another planet existed where life was a real possibility.
Although they had searched the universe for thousands of years, no other
planet had been found with such characteristics. They had given up hope
of ever finding life on another planet.
Galilea
was a woman of vision and persistence. She was not daunted by narrow
thinking or threads. She refused to believe that life could not exist
somewhere else out in the vast reaches of the universe. She smiled as
she watched the holographic image turning in her hand, and mused what
name to give this wondrous orb.
* * *
* *
Galileo
Galilei was a man of vision and curiousity, so much so that he nearly
gave his life to explore the unknown universe. He was forbidden to publish
his findings and threatened with death while living in an age which was
dominated by austere philosophies. Although his telescope was barely
adequate, what he did manage to see beyond the atmosphere of our planet
Earth convinced
him that the heavens held boundless mysteries to explore and that our
planet was but a mere inhabitant of a greater space than one could imagine.
He was the first astronomer to study the sun and map the sunspots he
saw moving across the sun's surface, observe the moon's craters and Jupiter's
satellites.
Who, today,
could view the magnificient Hubble photos of the universe without feeling
overwhelmed with curiousity and wonder? Who could not be in awe of the
photos of millions of stars moving in mysterious configurations deep
in the vast blackness of the universe? Galileo would have been thrilled
to witness all the recent discoveries made through these photos.
Cosmic Red Square
Galilea
is a tribute to Galileo, her head adorned with the golden radiance of
our Sun. The upper portion of the front of her gown displays one of the
most recent stunning astronomical discoveries, the hot star MWC922 --
the Cosmic Red Square -- a distant bipolar nebula exploding in near perfect
symmetry in the constellation Serpens. The three major stars of the Hunter's
belt in the Deep Orion Field of the Orion constellation adorn the lower
portion of the front of her gown, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka -- brilliant
blue supergiant stars that mark the night sky from late August through
mid-January. The Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters,
fills the backside of her gown. It is one of the most conspicuous objects
in the night sky that is among the first to be marveled at when we are
children. The faintest of the stars in this cluster is still 40 times
brighter than our own sun. The brightest star in this cluster, Alcyone,
is 1000 times more luminous! Cosmic debris such as the veils that Galilea's
astral winds disburse can be seen in the vicinity of the Pleiades --
clouds of minute grains of interstellar dust.
Hunter's Belt - Deep Orion Field
Pleiades Cluster
This doll
is also a tribute to the men in my life who have fostered and shared
a love for exploring the night sky and the universe around us. My father
who patiently taught all of his children about the wonders of the night
sky. He died many years before the Hubble telescope was launched but
he would have become as much of a Hubble photo junkie as I have become,
excited beyond measure by each new discovery and enchanted by all of
the discoveries. He would have been in awe of the vast numbers and shapes
of galaxies that have been documented to date as indeed I am. And my
dear husband, who lovingly indulges me with every Hubble photo book that
is published, reads every email link to yet another Hubble discovery
I send to him, gifts me with the annual Hubble photo calendar -- and
who
humors my childish delight over each new Hubble photo.
Galilea
prompted me to think of many things while she was being created. She
evoked memories of nights spent in star dreaming and days filled with
yearning
to know more about the universe. She also kept whispering lines to me
from one of my favorite poets by Robert Frost: "Earth's the right
place for love: I don't know where it's likely to go better."
She stands
on a reproduction of a sixteenth century astrolabe, perhaps much like
one Galileo may have used in his time. The box contains photos of the
Cosmic Red Square, the Hunter's Belt in the Deep Orion Field, and the
Pleiades cluster and the technical information for these stellar formations.
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Frontal Image
Side Image
Back Image
Detailed Image
Leap of
Faith
(rotation)
List of Materials
and Techniques Employed
Dimensions:
Doll and telescope without base -- 11 1/2 x 7 1/2"
Construction
Techniques:
Original cloth doll with wire armature, vinyl doll forearms, and a plaster
cone base weight.
Telescope
was made with wood handle, acrylic paint, #8 beads, #6 beads, bugle beads,
and 16mm antique crystal bead
Materials
List:
Paper mache box with lid for base, printout of 16th century astrolabe,
stain, and satin varnish
nymo
thread - black and white
seed and glass beads -- #6, #8, #11
charlotte beads - #13
crystal beads -- 4mm, 6mm AB bicone, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm AB round
#8 and #11 hex beads
20mm globe bead
Techniques:
Bead embroidery, peyote, sculptural peyote, picot edging, stringing
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