Out Of This World

Joelle Cooperrider’s functional designs at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory became a reality when they were developed into part of the Curiosity Rover’s drill assembly. She’s since transitioned to an IT role, yet maintains her visual musings in her L.A.-based studio. Beckoned from Boise, Idaho, by the University Of Miami’s Fine Art & Physics programs, Copperrider never settled on one school of thought. A day in her artistic life might involve attracting & repelling acrylic paint over rigid birchwood panels using only the help of Sir Isaac Newton’s once laughable theory: Gravity. The multi-step process is not only complex, but time-consuming, taking anywhere from 8 hours to 8 days to dry each layer. The metallic tides and frozen whirlpools of color retain their textural beauty in the way a melting candle or oil slick refracting light does; Joelle-Cooperrider.com.