Inspiration Board Project, and a Story: Saturn

Wow, it has been a week since I posted! It wasn't intentional, just part of this illness - it's been a rough week, but I am glad to have something to write about today!

I started this project a little over a week ago, here is the link, and worked on it again today. It's the cork board I am altering. I considered several ways to alter the board, tried stencils and ink, which was too light and then went with stencils and black acrylic paint. I wanted to keep it muted rather than bright because I didn't want it the background fighting with the different objects I attach to it.

After stenciling with black, I added a few areas in Nickel Azo Gold acrylic paint.

This is some decorative tissue paper I am considering using on the gessoed frame. The colors are very primary and the design is juvenile, but once torn into strips .................

.......... you don't see the design and I have some ideas as to how to mute them a bit. So check back and see how it proceeds!

UPDATE: 

I've changed my mind and will use something else instead of this paper! Stay with my blog to check it out!

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Saturn

41st in the Tuesday Story Series

We home schooled our daughter Tabitha, which I may have mentioned before. In her Junior and Senior year, she took a couple of Astronomy courses at the local Tech college to meet some of her science requirements, which also counted as a college credit. The course included night time planetary viewings and I had the opportunity to accompany Tabitha on one of them.

We had to drive above Summerville, which is outside of Charleston, to get away from some of the light pollution. Of course, it wasn't completely dark even then, but the instructor had a strong telescope and Saturn was in the night sky, and that's what we were hoping to see, barring any bad weather.

When we arrived at the spot, the night was clear and it was cool, so there was no heat to distort images. The instructor set up his telescope, pointed it in the right direction and adjusted everything to make it as clear as possible. As we all stood in silence, he looked for Saturn and then we heard a satisfied "Ahhhhh!" and knew it was in his sights. One by one, the students took turns looking at it and asked questions. After all of the students had viewed it, he asked me if I wanted a look and of course, I said Yes!

We all have see pictures of Saturn and its rings; it's in every elementary school science book in the USA (and other countries too, I'm sure). One of the first things a student learns in science is about the sun and the planets, so the image of Saturn is very familiar to all of us. But, it is nothing like seeing it through a strong telescope!

As I looked, I gave an involuntary gasp. It was so beautiful! The sun was reflecting off of it and it glowed in the telescope. It was a soft gold, and the rings clearly stood out. I was not expecting to respond the way I did, but it sort of stunned me. I wish I had the words to express how utterly breathtaking it was to see this creation of God's with my own eyes, rather than in a picture. 

On the way home that night, I kept reflecting on what I had seen. I remembered the verse in Genesis about God creating the heavens and the earth, and how pleased He was when He was finished. It's very easy to forget how magnificent the universe is, all around us, when we have so many issues to deal with on a day to day basis. But regardless of what is happening in the immediate, it is comforting to remember that there is so much more than today, and so much more than just what we see at the moment. All we need to do is lift up our eyes!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!