Hello, wayward Internet traveler and welcome to Astrolabe Arts! My intent is to bring you, dear reader, an increasing number of interesting and original works of art. So if you see something you like feel free to leave feedback, or contact me if you’d like to take something home! It would be really cool and a bit exciting to encounter someone using something made with my own hands.
This site, however, primarily serves as a gallery simply for people to peruse and enjoy at their leisure. It’s a virtual display case, or digital art exhibition, if you will.
Everything is incredibly commercial and mass produced now, from our food to our items of excess. Personally, never having enjoyed malls, outlet shops, or chain stores, I always longed for a more unique shopping experience: someplace with unique and culturally expressive merchandise. Alas, the niche for paintings and more peculiar arts is too small for traditional market commerce. Over time, I would create the scenes and objects that provoke a sense of wonder within me. Friends, family, teachers, and strangers on the internet would compliment my work and usually I figured they were being nice and maybe I’d stumbled upon one of the rare online commenters who realize there’s a human being on the other side of their screen. But, I took their comments more seriously when they offered to buy something! I wasn’t expecting to pique anyone’s interest, or appeal to their personal aesthetics enough for them to pay for it. For an artist, or for anyone who creates, that’s the biggest compliment you can get. It’s not even about the physical money, but it’s symbolic in giving weight to their kind words because they’re willing to part with what could help pay bills, or buy food, or just something else some other person made. Friends would ask for custom works too. So why not do something enjoyable, put a little of myself out into the world as a small and yet satisfying legacy, and maybe get paid to do it?
I use various mediums including pastels, watercolor and acrylic paints, charcoal, pen and ink, and metallic inks. A number of pieces are painted on wood which has a more firm and solid feel both aesthetically and to work with. Some works incorporate natural items like shells and gemstones and occasionally beads, bones, fossils, feathers, glass, and even meteorites!
Now whenever I finish a project I take a few photos and post it up online.
Perhaps you’re wondering “Why call it ‘Astrolabe Arts?’” Maybe not. But if you keep reading I’ll tell you anyways.
The name of the site was chosen for a couple reasons. Astrolabes came in two forms: a flat kind and a spherical kind. They were used for navigation and astronomical observations. They’d often depict the stars which were often thought to influence our lives. We’d live under the unwavering and inescapable guidance of the gods moving us towards greatness, or tragedy. Today we are equally influenced by numerous forces beyond our control and even our comprehension. The struggle to survive and the beauty of life, which are forged by those potent forces depicted in the stars, are two themes visited often in my art and wanted it to be conveyed in the name. Plus, who doesn’t like alliteration?
Thanks for visiting! And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
email: jgoslant@gmail.com
Astrolabe Arts 