The secret is out… My work has launched 🚀

A bird’s eye view has always mesmerised me, a different perspective of the Big Blue. The ocean, for me, puts us as humans into perspective—such a relatively small speck on such a vast and powerful planet. 

Anyone that knows me well knows that space has equally always fascinated and baffled me. Those feelings of being so small are just magnified when we look at the unquantifiable scale of the universe.  

When I first heard about Spaceport Cornwall being in my hometown of Newquay, I was so excited that it would be a hub for such a fascinating industry. To learn about their determination to make space travel more responsible and sustainable was a breath of fresh air.

So that leads me very nicely onto some very exciting news….

This week I was honoured to be part of the opening of Spaceport Cornwall, the UK’s very first Spaceport. 

Opening day of Spaceport Cornwall

And when I say I was a part of it, I mean one of my artworks was in a VERY big way! Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall is leading the way in showing how we can do things better, in a more sustainable way and a way which benefits and incorporates the local community.   So, when I was asked whether they could use my piece ‘Fistral Blues’ in the clean room of the Integration facility I was truly honoured.

My art installation piece in the clean room at Spaceport Cornwall

 The 15 metre x 9 metre print of my piece, created by the very talented team at The Logical Choice, was mind blowing to see. This room is where small satellites will be loaded onto Virgin Orbits LauncherOne rocket. My work will hopefully convey the beauty of Cornwall and the surrounding area of the facility to everyone that works in this ground breaking space.

The original artwork ‘Fistral Blues’

‘Fistral Blues’ was my biggest canvas to date and the first piece in which I started exploring being more sustainable as an artist.  This was my first experimentation with re-purposing fibreglass off-cuts from Rochfort Surfboards in Newquay, crafting these pieces of non-recyclable fabric, a by product of their manufacturing process, into wave crests and white water from the aerial views I try to capture of ocean swells.

It has led me down the path of re-purposing other objects and materials, from beach plastic to upcycling broken surfboards and skate decks into canvases. 

Me with Melissa Thorpe - Head of Spaceport Cornwall

I have a long way to go to become fully sustainable as a business and person, but we all have to start somewhere, each small act adding to a more significant impact.  Spaceport Cornwall has a similar ethos; we need satellites and space travel, up to 50% of the worlds data on climate change comes from small satellites like the ones being launched from Cornwall in the near future, but it needs to be more earth-friendly.  The team at Spaceport Cornwall are showing that it is possible, and I am incredibly proud to support them.