Thin Air

We move forward, not backward, with crises.  When you are surrounded by crises, use it; it presents the opportunity to experience what some call the "thin air."

~Karen W. Royer in Where Women Create magazine

The thin air...in my head the definition of the thin air experience is that light-headed, slightly panicked feeling of super-awareness we achieve during a crisis situation.  Fight or flight in the modern sense.  It is often times during these stressful moments in life that afford us the priceless opportunity to not only grow and change but also be creative.  Creativity comes from being uncomfortable, it is never cultivated in the status-quo.  Creativity is birthed from movement of mind and sometimes of the body.  Just my deep thought for the day, lol.

This piece was inspired by my calendar.  My mother gave me the most wonderful calendar for Christmas this year and as I walked by it the other day, I stopped to really take in the art that was displayed for April.  It is a drawing of a hot air ballon tethered to a sailing ship tethered to a whale flying through the air in a very mystical and magical way.  It sparked my memory of a vintage image I have been hanging on to of a man in a hot air balloon basket and I knew I had the start of an idea.  The idea of the tethering and flying came from my calendar, but the rest, the butterflies, the bees, the hummingbird, and the cage came from things that I love and tend to lean toward in my art.  Flying...I very frequently come back to flying...it reminds me of a reoccurring childhood dream I would have where I could fly like Peter Pan.  I loved the freedom I would feel in these dreams and as an adult I am still attracted to things that fly.

Detail of Thin Air

I also, in this artwork, wanted to convey the idea that sometimes in life we need help from those around us.  A helping hand, a lift, a little wind beneath our wings from those who love and care about us.  Many days I feel like the man in the basket, being carried along with love from my friends and family.  I am so grateful for them!  Sometimes it is a community effort to keep people aloft during difficult times, and that is what I was aiming for here.

When I make a piece, I screw up a hundred times before I get it the way I want it.  I make so many mistakes, but I don't mind.  I learn so much from making mistakes, that often times they lead me to the discovery of a new technique, a new idea, or a new way of seeing something.  With this piece, I wanted to paint it but every time I did, I ended up hating it.  I liked the straight digital collage 100 times better than any of the painted versions I did, so I stuck with this version.  Hope you like it!