Steven Whiffen
objects of art
Orion has always been my favorite constellation. His belt, and hanging sword were pointed out to me as a child in the northern hemisphere. I have grown fond of him the other way up, during my time on the other side of our perfect blue-green gem.
I'd always wanted to make a 'composite' piece. A constellation seemed an ideal vehicle, with its lines that are there but not.
I chose to set a fragment of iron meteorite into a ring of electroplated irogane (I can't find anyone else making anything this way, but it's a lot easier to get fine control over pattern than with heat fusion, thanks Joe ; ).
The area of Argentina called Campo Del Cielo
is famous for a crater field including 26 craters, the largest about 115 by 91 metres.
The craters and the area around contain numerous fragments of an iron meteorite. The total weight of the pieces so far recovered is about 100 tonnes, making the meteorite possibly the heaviest one ever recovered on Earth. It would have hit about 5000 years ago and may well be from out in the asteroid belt.
Each of the spheres that comprise the constellation have elements about them that I thought suited the individual stars.
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