SR-71

I only recently discovered that an SR-71 had crashed out in the Nevada desert two hours from my hometown. My Mother and I had to find it.

Every year, I venture home from Seattle, down to the tiny farm town I grew up in to spend the Holidays with the family. I've come to love every aspect of it. It took a while. This year was an exceptionally excellent trip. Not only was being with the family exactly what I needed in my state of self defeat, BUT WE FOUND THE CRASH SITE!!! Long story short, two of the teachers at the high school found out about it and told us. They shared the info with my Mom, but locked it once she sent it to me. So we had a single overhead picture to work with. My Mom pointed out the general area and I found the "tiny" impact circle from a satellite view. We drove RIGHT to it. As soon as my Mom stepped out of her Old Toyota Tundra, she found our first fragment of Titanium! I was ecstatic and shocked! I was already happy if that was all we found. Thankfully, after hours of excavating until the sun went down, we were able to find a few Stellar pieces. I am creating unique, exceptional quality art pieces with my few fragments. My Mom is keeping hers.

I will only be selectively cleaning the pieces I use. I am choosing to leave dirt and burnt carbon where I find it aesthetically appropriate. I will not be bending, heat coloring, or modifying the pieces in any way. Not only do I think that is disingenuous, but it looks tacky and obvious. I have standards. High Standards.

On works featuring terrain, I am using dirt from the actual crash site. Any and All patches will be Officially Licensed by Lockheed Martin. The descriptor plates behind the works will be Brushed 6061 Aircraft Aluminum. The frames will also be Aluminum with Tempered Glass.

I have been enjoying creating these even more than I anticipated. Each one presents unique challenges. I have had to utilize my skills and knowledge from several industries and hobbies. Scale Models, Aerospace Painting and Repair, Automotive Custom Fabrication, High End Audio Component Production, Material Science, Chemistry, and even Cosplay have all contributed to these works. It has been surprising. My perfectionism and refusal to compromise on my ideas has finally found the perfect outlet. I think my Loves of Art, Engineering, and Design really shine through with each piece. I certainly hope they do.

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