Space Craft: 21 Works of Art Inspired by the Cosmos

The wonders of the universe have long inspired humans to create art in homage. Whether the medium be welded metal or precision-cut plywood or crocheted yarn, makers are creatively showing their love of space, planets, space travel, and beyond. Pictured above and below is the fantastical 41-foot Raygun Gothic Rocketship, by talented Oakland, Calif.-based art collective Five Ton Crane. While the rocket itself doesn’t soar, the imaginations of all who lay eyes on it do. It features three full decks inside, the interior design is aesthetically based on science fiction from the 1930s to the early 1950s, and the attention to detail is astounding.

Here is the cockpit:

Feast your eyes on 19 more space-inspired works of art:

Alex Dumas’ 1/87 scale replica of the Swift, a spacecraft from the late-70s British TV series Space: 1999.

Jason Dietz’ UFO Lamps stand 6 feet tall and each feature an alien abduction.

Detail shot of one of Jason Dietz’ UFO Lamps.

Leslie B. Grigsbys beadwork rocket, an entry in the Etsy/NASA craft contest. (entry in NASA/Etsy contest

Robert McCall’s awesome space art.

MsPremiseConclusion’s crocheted Space Shuttle.

The Y.E.S. Project (Youth Educational Spacecraft) is a mobile spaceship classroom, and was a hit at Maker Faire Bay Area 2013.

Needle-felted Hubble space telescope by Jen Scheer.

Peter Hennessey’s 1:1 plywood Hubble.

Peter Hennessey’s 1:1 plywood Lunar Rover.

The simulated spaceship panel Jeremiah Gorman built for his son’s fifth birthday from scrap broadcast equipment.

Nativity in outer space by Papydom.

Detail shot of the Nativity in outer space by Papydom.

Rachel Hobson’s incredible moon embroidery, which won the Etsy/NASA craft contest and was flown to space.

Detail shot of Rachel Hobson’s incredible moon embroidery.

Emily Lakdawalla recreated the Dawn spacecraft in plastic canvas to use as a model for describing what’s going on with the spacecraft’s mission.

Xod, an intriguing large-scale sculpture created collaboratively by Bay Area artists Michael Christian and Orion Fredericks.

Orion Fredericks brought his Fata Morgana orrery to Maker Faire Bay Area.

Pardalote used photos from NASA to embroider this image of Jupiter.

The detailed space stitchery of Tasmanian artist Marta Brysha.

You can make your own concentric sphere planet layer cake with instructions by Cakecrumbs.

Nerdy Needle made this set of cross-stitch solar system coasters based on images, mostly from the Hubble space telescope, and has the patterns posted and CC-licensed for everyone to use.

And last but not least, check out the Mission Control Desk that Jeff Highsmith made for his son: