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Art in Space

April 22, 2016
star painting
Stellar Nursery in the Carina Nebula

When Clarion University honors student Sarah Elizabeth Strausbaugh looks into space, she sees more than just stars and planets, she sees beautiful works of art.

Strausbaugh was one of 31 Honors Program students who presented their senior presentations Wednesday night. Her presentation titled "Art in Space" combined her two areas of interest. Strausbaugh is a physics major with a concentration in astrophysics and a minor in art.

"I just wanted to create beauty from beauty," Strausbaugh said.

She said many times art can be competitive and repetitive. "People just try to make a statement."

Strausbaugh said her artistic process is based on her feelings and that's also how she chose the subjects in her paintings. Often she'd look online at an astronomy picture of the day and she'd choose one based on how she felt about the picture.

Her works of art are named for what they are including "The Great Nebula," "Seahorse in the Large Magellanic Cloud," "The Lagoon Nebula," "Stellar Nursery in the Carina Nebula," "The Soap Bubble Nebula," and The Iris Nebula."

Strausbaugh used the medium of gouache, which is an opaque watercolor paint. Regular watercolor paint allows you to see the white of the paper. She said she didn't tape off the edges of the paintings to allow the edges to be imperfect.

She also manually placed every star in each painting. When she began the project, people suggested that she splatter the stars onto the paper, but Strausbaugh wanted to be as accurate as possible. In the process, she found herself learning more information about each of her subjects.

She's not exactly sure how much time she spent on the entire project, but she estimates that each painting took about five to six hours to complete. "Some days, I'd sit down for hours."

Strausbaugh's work can now be seen in the university art gallery in Carlson Library through Saturday. After that, her work will be displayed inside Michelle's Café along Main Street. Once her shows are complete, Strausbaugh plans to sell her paintings.

Last Updated 1/11/21