12 Astronomical Artists You Should Know
Art and science are intimately connected, especially for astronomy. The beauty of the universe is pretty spectacular, and creativity is an integral part of science. And, admittedly this astronomer / author does some science art on the side, too—so I may be a little biased! If you’re interested in space art, here are some incredible artists bringing outer space into their work.
1. Laci Brock (Steller Arts)
Not only is Brock an amazing self-taught artist, she’s also a PhD student in astronomy and planetary science! Her paintings are so photo-realistic, they’re hard to tell from the real Hubble imagery that inspires them. They aren’t for sale (right now), but she has other merch with her art on it.
2. Amy Rae Hill
Hill creates out-of-this-world ceramics that are elegant, high quality, and downright gorgeous. Her hand-glazed pottery is often in demand and sells out, but if you can get your hands on a piece, it’s definitely something to treasure.
3. Olivia Wilkins (space|craft)
Wilkins is an astrochemist, zine maker, artist, mom, and more. She makes a varied array of space crafts (pun not intended?): earrings, bookmarks, pins, zines, posters, postcards! She also has a great series of pins advocating for inclusion in chemistry: test tubes colored with different LGBTQ+ flags.
4. Chrissy Sparks (ChrissySparksArt)
Inspired by the wonder of the cosmos and the natural world, Sparks paints gorgeous scenes of the universe on woodcuts, as well as on canvas and on paper with watercolors. She also occasionally makes the most precious hand-painted earrings!
5. Cathrin Machin
Machin is an Australian contemporary artist with a love for space—and wow, does that love show through in her art. These exquisitely detailed and often larger than life artworks capture the awe of peering out into the universe. She also recently did a collaboration with astrophysicist Sophia Gad-Nasr to create art based on Gad-Nasr’s science work!
6. Ash Wheeler (Dust and Ash Co)
Atlanta-based artist Ash Wheeler is working on her astrophysics degree while also painting the solar system. Her circular paintings of our neighboring planets and moons are incredible. She also works with other media, like her new series with charcoals!
7. Liz Kruesi (Designs by Liz K)
Science writer Liz Kruesi makes space-inspired jewelry with precious stones, so you can wear the moons and planets on your ears. Her jewelry is both elegant and scientifically accurate!
8. Dr. Becky Kennedy (Cepheid Studio)
After earning her Ph.D. in astrophysics, Kennedy decided to combine her interest in science with her love of creating as a full-time job. She precisely laser cuts wood to make exquisitely nerdy jewelry. Not to mention all sorts of textiles inspired by space she also makes, including lots and lots of fun socks.
9. Katy Lodge (Pretty Little Earth)
Designer Katy Lodge makes a vast selection of woodcut jewelry, inspired by the spacecrafts that help us learn about the universe. From Moon and Mars rovers to shuttles and satellite telescope: they’re adorable, affordable, and absolutely unique!
10. Erin Winick (Sci Chic)
Winick’s artistic enterprise, Sci Chic, has actually closed its doors, but her 3D-printed designs live on with the astro-fashion hub STARtorialist. (Bonus: STARtorialist also carries art from a lot of other artists in this list!)
Winick is still collaborating with them to design a few new pieces, like this super popular Mars 2020 Parachute skirt.
11. Dr. Sian Proctor (Space2Inspire)
When she is not busy being a geology professor, science communicator, or explorer, Dr. Sian Proctor (who is about to become an astronaut!) makes visionary art she calls “Afronaut Space Art.” This project has grown from something small and intimate started during COVID to an large thriving initiative “Space2Inspire”, aimed at creating a Just, Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive space (yes, those initial anagram into J.E.D.I. space) for all of humanity.
12. Joel Pedersen (XXYXXYART)
Pedersen makes the absolute cutest little sculpted astronauts. Delicately made, they come as figurines, earrings, trinket dishes, and more. Who doesn’t want a little space friend to accompany them everywhere?
Plus two bonus mentions for not-quite-astronomy, but still incredible STEM art and apparel:
Dr. Raven Baxter (Smarty Pants)
What can’t Dr. Raven the Science Maven do?! Not only is she a molecular biologist, rapper, and award-winning science communicator, she started her own company to sell STEM clothing. As the website says, “We’re a woman-owned and minority-owned business, and we understand what it feels like to not see yourself reflected in STEM. We take great pride in making sure that we offer inclusive representation in our products.”
Christine Liu and Tera Johnson (Two Photon Art)
These two scientists teamed up to use their creativity to make science more fun, and make it clear that science is for everyone. They make jewelry, pins, apparel, zines, and more inspired by science and the people who make science happen. They also give back to the community—proceeds from some of their pins go to different charities and initiatives, and they’ve partnered with Massive Science to help train future science communicators.
