Happy 2009! My New Year's card illustrates some constellations unique to the southern hemisphere: Centaurus, Cetus, Hydra, Scorpio, and Piscis Austrinus. The concept was inspired by Uranometria, a beautifully engraved star atlas of 1603 (the first to cover the entire celestial sphere), and by my recent travels south of the equator.

I'm currently at McMurdo Station in Antarctica for my project called The Art of Recycling in Antarctica : The Long View. I'll be here for most of January and you're invited to follow along on my dedicated project blog hosted by the California Academy of Sciences.

Incidentally, I won't see any constellations during my time here. At this deep southern latitude, the sun won't set till autumn.

 
Vostok is an artist’s book edition I created in collaboration with Dolphin Press & Print in Baltimore during my visiting faculty residency at MICA. The project was letterpress and screen printed in an edition of 30 and facilitated by Illustration Chair Whitney Sherman.

Vostok refers to the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica. Preliminary research suggests that Lake Vostok supports active micro-organisms that evolved in isolation for several millions of years. However until scientists devise a way to study this uniquely pristine environment without contaminating it, its life forms remain as much a mystery as those beyond our atmosphere. Vostok drills deep to reveal a trajectory between deep ice and deep space.

Copies are available for purchase and the proceeds help fund MICA's residency programs.