Studio 1219 Artist’s Work Goes Into Space on Endeavor Shuttle!
Posted April 25, 2011
Studio 1219 Artist Michelle Jensen’s work has been selected by Beads of Courage to go to space and back on NASA’s STS-134 mission this week. The artwork, titled “Alien on a Rocket Ship” is part of Tucson, Arizona’s Beads of Courage and NASA’s Space Beads of Courage projects. The Endeavor’s STS-134 mission is scheduled to launch on April 29, 2011. Jensen’s hand-crafted, lampworking glass bead was selected in a contest for glass bead makers from around the world.
She is a resident of Applegate, and her work is featured at Studio 1219. She also teaches beginning lampworking at the Studio. Lampworking is a method of making beads from glass tubes or rods. The beads are made by softening the glass in a flame.
Beads of Courage is a non-profit organization, based in Tucson, Arizona, focused on arts-in-medicine programs geared toward helping children cope with serious illnesses. Patients are given beads to represent significant treatment milestones during their journey. Beads of Courage programs have helped thousands of children and their families at over 90 hospitals in the U.S, Japan and New Zealand.
“We are very grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm of all our artists, not just in this special program, but every day of the year. Without their help, Beads of Courage just wouldn’t exist,” said Jean Baruch, Executive Director of Beads of Courage. “We are very fortunate to be given another opportunity to work with NASA to send such fine artwork into space. These missions bring inspiration to many children and their families battling serious illnesses.”
The Space Beads of Courage project is the brainchild of Jamie Newton, an employee at the Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Newton’s daughter has been battling cancer and is a participant in the Beads of Courage program. He pursued this idea in the hope of raising awareness about Beads of Courage and the work the organization does helping children undergoing medical treatment.
This NASA mission is the last flight of the Shuttle Endeavor. It is commanded by Mark Kelly. Kelly is married to U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was the target of an attempted assassination in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011.
The Beads of Courage is also currently collecting beads from artists around the country to add to an honorary Support Strand of beads being assembled by volunteers and locals to present to Giffords as a symbol of encouragement from children in the Beads of Courage program and the Tucson public.
To learn more about the Beads of Courage program, visit http://www.beadsofcourage.org.
For more information on NASA’s Space Beads of Courage, see the article at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/beads.html
