Tadpole Galaxy

[laurieopal]

I've been working on for a while on a pendant of the tadpole galaxy for an astronomer . I've finished carving the wax and am starting to work on the stone settings which include 2 blue sapphires. It is very challenging to work on an astronomical that is transparent in many places and thinly veiled in others. Figuring out how to represent this has been fascinating. I will put up- a photo after it's finished. The shading in the polishing is going to need to be both subtle and careful.

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Interestingly, I was at the Contemporary Jewish Museum yesterday and saw In That Case: Havruta in Contemporary Art  which is, in part, about dark mater. There was a a painting of the exact hubble telescope image that I'm using. (the one above.) image. I had never seen the tadpole galaxy until I received this commission, so seeing on a wall like that was somewhat surreal.