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"Earth and Sky"

About the Train

The train design is called Earth and Sky, which are two important historical scientific elements of Gaithersburg’s history. Initially upon hearing about the trains Michael knew that he wanted to do something that would include peonies, but then he saw a model of the caboose and was struck by it's similarity to the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory. He came to the conclusion that these two elements, one of the earth and one of the sky, along with the manmade element of the train, were in fact three very defining features of Gaithersburg’s history and character. This locomotive has developed into an intriguing collage of nature and science, while still paying homage to the trains, peonies and the Latitude Observatory, and the work done there.

Materials and Design

The entire locomotive is being decorated in a collage of handmade art papers, historical documents and direct physical representations of the Earth and Sky. The base and lower half of the locomotive have been covered with handmade paper skeleton leaves and a peony wallpaper border to represent the earth. The cab of the train is an artistic interpretive model of the Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory. The body of the locomotive is done in a mixture of paints and collage materials to represent the sky and to honor the work done at the Observatory.

About the Artist

Michael Griffin Kane has a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Southern Maine and has done graduate work in Arts Administration at American University. After spending over a decade in Arts Administration working on the successes of other artists, he became a stay-at-home-dad for his two girls and began developing his own artistic successes. His current concentration is working in collage and painting. For more information about Michael, visit his website: http://web.mac.com/bluegryphonstudio/iWeb/gryphon/studio.html