My name is Brian Lemaux and I was formerly a researcher at the University of California, Davis and now a staff scientist at the Gemini-North telescope in Hilo, Hawai’i. I had the pleasure to work with Maya Chalee on a few projects related to astronomical survey of distant galaxies that were being led by the Physics & Astronomy department at UC Davis. The collaboration with Maya was an extremely rewarding and enriching experience for me and my team. Maya listened to our ideas about creating a logo, however silly they were, and patiently taught us about the world of graphic design. She also listened carefully to the science ideas that we wanted to incorporate into our logos and masterfully weaved both our aesthetic ideas and science requirements into the logo. She provided a huge amount of guidance at all stages of the process to shepherd us through, what was for us, unfamiliar territory to create brilliant and gorgeous logos for our surveys. These logos have now been used in several talks at international science meetings. We could not have asked for more!
I love Maya's work... owning 2 pieces. It feels personal and emotional and therefore easy to connect to. But much of the emotion for me comes from knowing Maya herself. She is a remarkable person and I wish I could have coffee with her every week and talk. Just look at her work, it is enchanting and powerful. Someday I'm going to commission her to paint a big gardenia.
As a young art collector I was inspired by Maya’s work and knew that the first piece in my collection needed to be hers. I was so impressed I bought 2! Each work tells a unique story and steals the show in the room.