Constellations, salvaged wood PETL73

• Reclaimed wood
• 30 x 30 inches

Constellations reflects my ongoing fascination with astronomy and humanity’s desire to understand its place within a larger universe. Constructed from salvaged painted wood and inspired by the geometry of quilt blocks, the composition evokes stars, celestial mapping, and imagined systems assembled from fragments.

The work was created during a period of renewed public wonder surrounding images from the James Webb Space Telescope — and it was the colors that stopped me. The improbable pinks, golds, and deep blues of newly forming solar systems felt unexpectedly close to the surfaces of the salvaged wood already in my studio.

Original paint, wear, and imperfections remain visible, allowing the material to carry its own history into a composition balancing structure, play, and wonder. For me, contemplating the scale of the universe is profoundly hopeful — it repositions human conflict and fragility within something immeasurably larger.