Psyche Inspired: Katherine Page

Institution: Bowdoin College

Major: Biology

Psyche Inspired Class: 2021-2022

Reflections on Psyche Inspired

Reflections on Project 1: Psyche Stoneware

Psyche Stoneware

Katherine Page

December 8, 2021

Major: Biology

Genre/Medium: Stoneware clay sculpture with underglaze, hot glue, Mod Podge, cotton swabs

About the work: My ceramic plant decorations incorporate a combination of elements that bring me joy: excitement for the Psyche mission, the greenness of Earth’s nature, and the therapy of clay hand-building. The larger spacecraft was designed to mimic the form of the real-life structure and the smaller spacecraft is a simplified version meant for smaller potted plants. Though the texture, contents, and exact shape of the asteroid is yet to be understood, I mimicked the form that is portrayed by the mission’s website. An essence of my personality was left on each form through splotches of my favorite colors, and they are completed by their green plant habitat that beautifully connects science and art.

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Reflections on Project 2: Psyche Spacecraft Artist Book

Psyche Spacecraft Artist Book

Katherine Page

January,31 2022

Major: Biology

Genre/Medium: Linocut prints, watercolor, sequins

About the work:This linocut pop-up artist book is a symbolic interpretation of the Psyche spacecraft and its instruments. Each page represents an instrument and its functions using abstract linocut relief printing, watercolor, sequins and cut-out forms, and each design is shadowed by a starry background to solidify a sense of infinite space. The Psyche mission’s actual spacecraft is magnificent in its complexities but difficult to be understood by the average onlooker, so I made this book to invite accessible, up-to-your-interpretation views of the spacecraft and its significance. In order from left to right, the pages represent the spacecraft’s solar arrays, laser communication technology (Deep Space Optical Communication), magnetometer, and star trackers, as well as the (16) Psyche asteroid and Psyche mission badge. The asteroid depiction is simple and lacking in color to represent the many unknown elements of (16) Psyche that are yet to be explored—only time will tell the true story of (16) Psyche!

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Reflections on Project 3: Team

Team

Katherine Page

March,25 2022

Major: Biology

Genre/Medium: Multi-media collage on cardboard (paper cutouts, paint, sequins, glitter and Mod Podge)

About the work: This collage is like a big thank-you card for each individual involved in the Psyche mission. The Psyche mission is made up of hundreds of people, organized into teams ranging from project system engineering to grad student collaborators. Though many are working in different spaces at different moments, they are all contributing time, knowledge and passion to a collective goal of uncovering the wonders of 16 Psyche. My collage uses photographs, sequins, paint and handmade logo cut-outs to capture the beautiful chaos of the Psyche mission and represent the disciplines and backgrounds that work together. In this piece, focused engineers and ponderous researchers work amidst bright pink stars and splashes of sequins, because intellect and creativity go hand-in-hand. Many Psyche team members share other passions like music and art that stemmed from childhood and remained a creative outlet, and I wanted to emphasize this commonality of a science-arts balance in my work.

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Reflections on Project 4: Psyche Building blocks

Psyche Building blocks

Katherine Page

April,28 2022

Major: Biology

Genre/Medium: Basswood, wood carving tools, acrylic paint

About the work: “Psyche Building Blocks” is a set of six basswood forms carved and painted by hand to mimic the nostalgic style of classic children’s building blocks. Each block face is a different color of the rainbow and boldly depicts a letter, number or symbol pertaining to the Psyche mission. Letters spell out “PSYCHE” and “WONDER” to represent the value of wonder and curiosity in the mission, and the blocks can be arranged like puzzle pieces to form a picture of the spacecraft orbiting the asteroid, with the phrase “Journey to a metal world” floating inside the image. These blocks are designed to promote hands-on learning; they have to be held, shuffled and arranged to reveal each word or pattern. To invoke the colorful chaos of elementary school art sessions, the blocks are strewn about with spilled glitter, rubber bands, Legos, and a paint palette.

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Psyche Inspired

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Psyche Inspired