An Astronaut in Lake Forest Park

7/21/15 inks, watercolor, colored pencil

The Museum of Flight is celebrating its 50^th anniversary with a public art project called “Astronauts on the Town.” Local artists have decorated 25 life-size astronaut statues that are standing in various restaurants, museums and other public venues throughout the summer. Kate Buike, a Museum of Flight volunteer, is on a personal mission to sketch all 25 astronauts! I’m not that ambitious, but I want to try to sketch at least the ones in my neck of the woods when I’m in the area.

I was up north in Shoreline this morning, so I swung over to Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, which is hosting the astronaut “Reflections of the Future.” Of all the 25 astronauts, this is one of only a few that look like realistic astronauts (the rest have been “interpreted” rather loosely). The artist, seventh grader Anna Harris, said in her artist statement, “Reflections of the future shows you what you would look like if you were an astronaut. You can be an astronaut if you put your mind to it! Imagine what it would be like, floating around in outer space, taking hourly samples on some crystals you are growing, or walking on the surface of the moon.”

In conjunction with the project, the museum is sponsoring a contest for two round-trip Alaska Airlines tickets. To enter, participants have to take a selfie with an astronaut and post it on Instagram with the tags @museumofflight and #AstronautsontheTown. How could I resist participating?