Putting the 'Art' in Artemis
Mars n' Magic
Summary
‘Mars n’ Magic’ is a childlike interpretation of Mars in the eyes of students. Using recycled materials, pencils and our imagination we created a magical window, out of which our students could see the beauty of Mars. Inspired by NASA’s images of Mars and the Boeing ‘Space Launcher,’ our piece showcases the power of imagination, dreams and love as the ingredients behind travelling the cosmos. We aim to inspire all our youth to use that magic in them; for one day, it’ll rewrite history.
How We Addressed This Challenge
To describe our artwork, it is a model of Mars seen through the eyes of young students. Outside their window, two students see the beautiful Mars. Their teacher, with his magic wand changed their blackboard into a starry sky with the ‘Space Launch’ rocket flying in it. Our artwork is made of only recycled materials, coloured pencils and glue. The final image was pieced together using Photoshop.
Our piece showcases the progression towards Mars in the eyes of children. As students ourselves, it suddenly feels other planets are within our reach. Our piece is an interpretation of how we see Mars; created primarily through drawing and colouring. We recycled materials such as shoeboxes and glad wrap to create a classroom feel. The shine on our window into Mars is created through photography. We pieced all the elements together using Photoshop.
To us, our piece is a reflection of who we are as students. We have dreams that go beyond the world. We live in a society which allows us to see the world however we like and interpret it the way we want. In our eyes, we see a home in Mars too. It’s a place we’ll one day reach and explore.
The only requirement is that we do it together, for in each other’s eyes we are the world. Our piece exhibits the power of imagination and the love of our generation as the stepping stone to exploring the cosmos. The magic of the wand is a symbol for the magic we see every day on Earth; whether it be in the eyes of our people or the environment we are fortunate to live in.
And thus, our piece came to be known as ‘Mars n’ Magic,’ dedicated to the little explorer in us all. Together, we can travel through the galaxy.
All it takes is that little bit of magic
inside us all.
How We Developed This Project
Our project was developed through three stages: Designing, Creating and Joining.
In our designing phase, we played around with the various interpretations of Mars. We researched movie interpretations, cartoon designs, posters, etc. We then looked into the real images NASA has taken over time and started to recreate them onto pencil and paper. The rocket idea came from an article we had read previously and felt it added to the piece. Digging through the house we found reusable materials to add dimension to our creation.
This led us onto the creating stage, where we started making the different elements of our piece. Our centrepiece was of course the red planet, however details like the magic wand and caps were important too. Our starry sky was created by using white pencils on black crepe paper. Our rocket was made of recycled print paper coloured in. Mars itself was created by backing paper onto some cardboard and using a variety of reds, pinks, oranges, purples and yellows to create a stylistic but inspired depiction.
Once all our elements were made, we began joining them together. We first built up our shoebox model using our rocket and Mars, along with glad wrap for the window effect. After this, we took photos at different angles and merged them into one. Then, using Photoshop we added in our drawing of the children and teacher. After playing around with the saturation and density of the colours our piece was complete.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
We used an image taken by Nasa of the red planet. Inspired by this photograph, we recreated the planet with colour pencils and shading. Although somewhat loose, we were able to incorporate the key details of the image and produce a nice, clean representation of the planet.
Another image we took inspiration from was Nasa’s Boeing ‘Space Launcher’ rocket. Our mini-rocket is a cartoon interpretation of the photograph. We feel it added to the exploration and advancement themes of the piece. The mini size too was meaningful, for it echoed how just like a small rocket we young students too can travel beyond our horizons.
Project Demo
Attached is our final piece.
Data & Resources
https://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/hightlight_images/mars2_115916c.jpg
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/boeing-spacex-mars-elon-musk-2016-10?r=US&IR=T