Minnesota artist tapped by Lucasfilm to create "Star Wars" collage for May the 4th holiday
MINNEAPOLIS — Fans around the world united over the weekend to celebrate May the 4th, a day that's turned into a full-blown holiday to commemorate the popular movie franchise "Star Wars."
This year, the company that created the films tapped a Minnesota collage artist to create a piece to celebrate the occasion. From cabin scapes to classic cars, artist and Minnehaha Academy teacher Nathan Stromburg crystallizes cherished memories into collages for clients.
"It's all made of paper and glue. That's it," he said. "I go until eventually it looks like something."
This winter, though, Stromburg was working on a project for a much higher-profile client than usual. Right before Christmas, he says he got a call from Lucasfilm Ltd.
"I said, 'Yeah, I'm 100% in,'" Stromburg said.
They wanted him to create something to hang in their office walls in time for the past weekend's "Star Wars" holiday. He said that he was struck by instant imposter syndrome, but faced the challenge head-on. He had a few months to dedicate himself to the task at hand, and says he logged 211 total hours of work.
"I do art in addition to teaching full time, so most of that was done in the evenings and weekends," he said. "It was a lot of work, but when you're working on something like 'Star Wars,' it's so much fun. I felt like a little kid."
In the end, with help from magazines and posters from the studio's archives, Stromburg completed his collage art piece and got the chance to unveil it in person at the San Francisco halls of Lucasfilm, just in time for May the 4th.
"I kind of can't believe I've had the chance to make my own 'Star Wars' art that hangs in such a prominent spot," he said. "My piece is right next to Grogu, otherwise known as Baby Yoda."
His work depicts the stalwart robot characters C-3PO and R2-D2, in a galaxy not so far away.