Adventures in Metal

Recently Etsy co-hosted a contest with NASA. The contest called for handmade art designed and produced to commemorate the end of the NASA space shuttle program which is scheduled to be terminated in 2011. Now it just so happens that my etsy team, The Aspiring Metalsmiths, also does a monthly design challenge and this months theme required that we step outside our comfort zone and make a non jewelry metals piece. I took this opportunity to design and build a mixed metals collage/sculpture which I submitted to the Etsy contest and will also submit to the AMT monthly challenge as well.
For my entry I designed a nite-lite that features a couple of set stones and an "orbiting" space shuttle and planet. I hand punched the back drop and set a red sea sediment jasper in the upper left hand corner representing a planet, perhaps THE red planet i.e Mars, and a white mother of pearl shell on the lower right to represent the moon. I then etched a small space shuttle and a ringed planet and attached them to opposite ends of a clock hand. By inserting the battery into the clock mechanism, the space shuttle and the planet "orbit" around the etched earth foreground piece.  As the shuttle descends behind the earth the planet is just rising and beginning its journey across the sky. Lastly, I attached a small light fixture to the back of the piece that takes a typical 7 watt nite lite bulb. When the light is turned on the light shines through the punched "stars" and casts a myriad of constellations onto the wall.
I had alot of fun making this piece and will probably try to make more non jewelry items in the future. Until then take a look at these pics and let me know what you think.

Take a look at a video of the rocket and planet in motion at this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32112936@N02/5193630953/