A Wondrous Earth at St. Mark’s

 

11/18/25 Terra installation at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle

A wondrous temporary installation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral challenged USk Seattle in just about every way. Terra, a 24-foot replica of planet Earth suspended in the center of the cathedral nave, slowly revolves on its tilted axis. The jaw-dropping scale of the globe in the context of the cathedral is difficult enough to convey, but there’s also its three-dimensionality: How to keep the sphere from looking like a flat disc?

I’m not sure I was successful at capturing any of that, but at least I can thank Kay for being seated in a pew and lending some sense of scale!

The globe at St. Mark’s is one of hundreds that Orbis Globes has installed in various locations since 1985. During the throwdown, an Orbis installer chatted with us about the challenges of suspending an inflated, revolving 24-foot Earth. I’m sure that’s challenging – but not as challenging as drawing it!