Close Encounters: A Closer Look at The Sky Was Beautiful on Fire

Introducing our newest puzzle: Steve Driscoll's The Sky Was Beautiful on Fire. So excited about this one! I had the pleasure of experiencing this awe-inspiring piece of art in person last summer at the McMichael Gallery as part of their "Size Matters" exhibit. I'd highly recommend visiting any (ALL) of Steve's exhibits if you ever have the chance.

Without much further ado, here are some closeups of the puzzle pieces.

Since the dawn of humanity, our species has looked to the heavens as a source of awe, inspiration, and meaning...

Why does the moon wax and wane? Who put those stars in the night sky? Why do the heavens dance, spark and occasionally rain down rock?

In time, patterns emerged in the night sky that paralleled our own ability to engender patterns through speech, language and art. Names were given and stories were told about the constellations above, perhaps to bring a sense of predictable order to an otherwise chaotic life of struggle and survival.

Our ambitions to conquer the natural world grew, and we sought to make the world our own through exploration, invention and scientific study. Our interest in the cosmos led to the development of instruments of astronomy, navigation and the study of objects both too small or too far for the naked eye to see.

Driven by innate curiosity and boundary shattering tendencies, we would then seek to break free from our earth-shackled observations. Soon our earthbound tools would be sent to space to expand human perspectives and scientific frames of references. As our outward examination into the cosmic universe deepened, so did our inward examination of life on earth.

The cosmos still beckons and challenges us. With life on earth under the expert scrutiny of countless fields of study and humanity's insatiable appetites, our curiosity once again turns outward. Are we the lucky few in an otherwise dark and lifeless universe? Will we ever discover signs of life outside of Earth’s atmosphere? Outside our galaxy? What is humanity's role in an ever-expanding universe?