Maker Faire Bay Area 2024
The Cosmic Messenger
Home: Oregon, United States
The Cosmic Messenger is an interactive sculpture designed to spark joy and creativity. This life-sized Pegasus unicorn, lovingly called Peggy, is crafted from sheet metal and steel rod, adorned with rainbow-colored glass chakras and a rainbow-painted mane and tail. Peggy's body is coated in black chalkboard paint, inviting you to get creative with chalk messages. At night, white LEDs illuminate the glass, while color-changing LEDs create a rippling rainbow effect on her wings, mane, and tail. This year, Peggy sports a new mermaid tail, giving you even more space to draw, and offers postcards for visitors to send messages through the cosmos. Blending artistic beauty with interactive fun, Ms. Peggy is a whimsical, one-of-a-kind magical beast sure to bring smiles to all who meet her.
Maker
Miki Masuhara-Page
Miki Masuhara-Page is a mixed media artist from Hawaii based in Portland, OR. She loves creating interactive creatures; inspired by both real ones and those that live in her imagination. She uses mediums including drawing, welding and almost everything in between. Her work is influenced by nature, fantasy, dreams, psychedelia, and her upbringing.
What Inspired You to Make This?
I grew up in an isolated valley on the Big Island of Hawaii, where wild ponies roamed. My love for horses and magical legends inspired me to dream up Peggy. Without running water or electricity, my dad read me stories of heroes and mythical beasts by kerosene lamp. I worked at a horse stable and tamed a wild pony named Lio. Living in such an inspiring place, I was taught in a hands-on manner, which fueled my passion for interactive art. I’ve always loved magical things, believing there is more out there than meets the eye. Peggy is a tribute to Lio and the enchanting legends that shaped my youth, inviting others to share the wonder and magic that filled my early years.
