HerStory…Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison

“HerStory…Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison” was inspired by my series of quilts “Space Odyssey.” This series explores space travel along with remote sensed images of the moon. Mae Jemison is an inspiration to all women, not only for her great accomplishments, but because of what she stood for: an unrelenting desire to accomplish her dreams. I was drawn to Dr. Jemison after watching her TED Talk, “Teach Arts and Science together.” She has an overwhelming enthusiasm for the science and art programs. Her presence and strength on these subjects and within her community make her a very confident educator plus she is a dancer and an art collector. She loves to help students dream their dreams and be creative thus creating bold thinkers for future design ideas and technology.

This quilt was created by using new techniques. The construction of my piece started with two images. I then took the two photos, one of Mae Jemison and one of the Earth, and manipulated them in Photoshop to make one image. Special filters and techniques were used within Photoshop to create the final image. The image then was printed on fabric.

The piece was then quilted on an APQS longarm machine to add special details of the Earth and of Mae herself – hair, astronaut suit, helmet, and facial features. I used several different colors of thread to enhance my visual statement. Cotton canvas fabric and thread were also used on this piece.

Mae Jemison is an American physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.

Cotton canvas fabric and polyester thread were used on this piece.

Photo courtesy Rapid Photo