At the gallery on Thursday, I ran into a friend (Russ Schleipman) who I want to introduce to you for a couple of reasons.   First, he and his father created the most amazing telescope that I am utterly in love with, and second he is an amazing photographer- but more about that in a future post.

Russ sent me this note yesterday about the telescope.

This Monday a rare trifecta of the moon, Jupiter and Venus gave us a beautiful evening show. Known as a conjunction, it was well timed for the crystal clear skies on Sunday and Monday. I looked at it with our Porter Garden Telescope, an unusual piece which looks more like botanical bronze than a scientific instrument. My dad fell in love with it when he saw one in the Smithsonian, and decided he had to have one. And so he does, after two years of engineering with a team of dedicated pros and an excellent foundry. The optics are superb. In fact, the moon fills the circular field of view and you can see the rubble around crater edges, which casts long shadows when the moon is sidelit, as it was on Monday.
The garden telescope is pretty unusual in that the optics can be lifted out in a heartbeat and taken inside. What remains outside is a lovely piece of sculpture. Some people see a swan or a cormorant in it’s sweeping curves, and one owner saw a Spartan armor helmet in its shape. Each to his own interpretation. Even Queen Elizabeth thought it was great. There’s a picture of her, with me, on the website. And enjoy the clear winter skies.
The best light show is free.

I am waiting for the perfect project and client to come along who will appreciate this beautiful object and garden sculpture. I think it would be a wonderful addition to a roof top garden or maybe made available as a special treat for guests of a beautiful hotel…

If you want to buy one, or just see Russ with Queen Elizabeth, visit the Porter Garden Telescope Website.