Psyche Inspired
Learn more about the Psyche Inspired program and view other works
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Major: Mechanical Engineering
Genre/Medium: gingerbread and butter cookies with icing, food coloring gels, and powders
About the work: Inspired by the people of the Psyche mission, I created gingerbread molasses and butter cookies using icing and an edible watercolor technique to symbolize not only the person, but the lesson I took away from each of them. Marisol Arenas demonstrated the importance of continuous learning and growth, even against adversity. Lindsay McLaurin shared the importance of connecting with others, sharing the excitement of the mission, and feeding off of feedback. Tom Prettyman’s presentation showed that interplanetary comparisons of data connect what we learn from separate missions. Kristina Larson drilled the importance of communication between distinct, interlocking areas. Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton helped me realize the connections between the arts and sciences and how our exploration of space offers a greater understanding of ourselves. Ravi Prakash recalled his varying experiences, pointing out that every opportunity offers something to learn. While I’ve only decorated a handful of people involved, the people of the Psyche mission offer so much in their work and in what they can teach, and I wanted to honor that
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Genre/Medium: butter cookies and icing
About the work: I relate the excitement of sharing Psyche to the sharing of good food. With that, I created a set of decorated cookies to look like the mission badge and the Psyche asteroid. I designed and 3D printed custom cookie cutters, with the mission badge cutter having a stamping feature for greater accuracy of the design. After baking, I used icing of the same colors as the mission badge. I tried smearing the icing to create gradients similar to the badge. For a more detailed approach, such as the black lettering and most accurate badge cookie, I used an edible watercolor technique.