A Snoqualmie artist’s creation has taken a flight like no other.

The blown-glass amulet in the shape of a crow, created by Valley artisan Joan Moore, is currently in orbit on the International Space Station.

The amulet was carried into space by astronaut Mike Barratt of Houston, who rode a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakastan to the International Space Station last March. Barratt is bringing the raven back to earth when he returns Oct. 11.

“It’s beyond description,” said Moore, looking at an image of her artwork shot by Barrett. The black crow floats weightless on a gold chain, with planet earth filling the porthole behind it.

“It’s just out of this world.”

Johann Sasynuik of Fall City gave the amulet to Barratt, his brother-in-law, last October, after buying it from an Issaquah gallery that carries Moore’s work.

“The raven has been one of my totems for a long time,” said Sasynuik, the Sifu, or teacher, at Kung Fu Club of Issaquah/Fall City.

“I needed a good luck charm,” said Sasynuik, who was going through a divorce at the time. He wore it for more than a year before passing it on to Barratt for good luck on his long space voyage.

“Mike said he had an opportunity to take something small,” Sasynuik said. “I thought that would be appropriate.”

The raven represents almost all cultures, including Pacific Northwest Native Americans, as well as Barratt’s own Norse heritage, Sasynuik said. The amulet was blessed by the Snoqualmie tribe prior to its voyage through space.

By the time Barratt returns to earth, the raven will have flown 6.7 million miles. It’s the most far-flown raven of all time, Sasynuik joked.

“How many ravens have flown around the the earth 16 times a day for six months?” he asked.

Sasynuik contrasted the amulet with the other ‘passenger’ on the space station, a Buzz Lightyear doll from the Pixar movie “Toy Story.” The doll got a ticker-tape parade at Disney World on Oct. 2.

“The raven returns to the quiet solitude of mist-shrouded trees,” Sasynuik said. “Between them, they have this yin-and-yang thing going on.”

“Ravens and crows have always figured into the lore of life,” Moore said. “A messenger is one of its main characteristics. It is what you want it to be.”

Retired from a state job, Moore has been a “lampworker,” or flame-using glass bead-maker, for 14 years. Born and raised in Preston, she was drawn to glass after checking out one of the first glass-blowing studios in the state at Central Washington State College, now Central Washington University, in the 1970s.

Amulets of ravens, crows and other birds are among her most popular creations. Moore sells her pieces at KoKo Beans, Isadora’s Books and Cafe and the Snoqualmie Feed Store, as well as at the Upfront Gallery in Issaquah, Glasshouse Studio and Gargoyle’s in Seattle, the Chihuly studio store in Tacoma, and Hellebore in Langley, Wash. Moore’s work can also be viewed at www.rookmoore.com.

Moore plans to share images from the Raven’s journey with her cousins, who are geography and science teachers in England and Pennsylvania. It may have educational applications, since the raven has more than 6 million miles under its wings, she said.

“It is known to be a messenger,” Moore said, “and appears to have a window seat.”