Somnium, Solaris and Making a Glass Universe

It's not every day that I can claim to have created the universe--or helped to, at least. But a couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop led by Simone Kay to build an image of the cosmos using stained glass. The glass appliqué panel is now on display at THE CUBE in London, where artist-in-residence Natalie Kay-Thatcher, who organized the workshop, is running a series of space-themed events.

You may recognize Natalie's name; last year, she organized the Jiggling Atoms exhibition. Now, she is producing a series of pieces inspired by two texts, Somnium, by astronomer Johannes Kepler, and Solaris by Polish writer, Stanislaw Lem.

To my shame, I have to admit that I have not read Kepler's Somnium, which describes a trip to the Moon, complete with demons. It is has been called both the first science-fiction novel and the first serious scientific treatise on lunar astronomy (minus the demons). The B&W image, right, is one of Natalie's illustrations inspired by Kepler's imaginings.

Solaris provides a different challenge for an artist, since it involves an ocean planet that defies understanding by the human mind. I'm currently reading Solaris and I'll keep you posted on how Natalie deals with the portraying the incomprehensible. But if you're based in London, I encourage you to visit her exhibition, in person, which is growing day by day, and see for yourself. You can also enrol in one of her workshops (which run into December) or attend one the forthcoming talks by artists and scientists.

I should also list the other contributors to the panel at the top and to the right (who probably all did far more than me): Laura Doehler, Ellie Stamp, Rob Heppell, Matt Cullin, Tim Bell, Ray Goodall and, of course, Simone Kay and Natalie Kay-Thatcher.