A blogger friend recently asked me a few things about my most recent project… And since I haven’t shared anything about how “Inflated Dreams” came to be, here are snippets from that Q&A!

What inspired your first exhibit collection: “Inflated Dreams”?

“For several months now, I’ve had this obsession and fascination with balloons–how airy, light, and perfectly round they were. I was inspired by a lot of wedding videos, movies and ads that had balloons in them. When Heima asked if I wanted to collaborate with them for their new collection, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring this vision to life.

This balloon corner made for great photo-ops during the event!

“I began thinking of very out-of-this-world scenarios with balloons in them. ‘Tread Lightly’ was the first image that inspired the rest, which I rendered with the style I do best–very feminine, dreamy, muted hues, but with an element of edge and mystery. My work always combines hard and soft elements–like realistic against whimsical aspects–because the irony itself lends interest. So while these pieces appear soft and feminine at first, there is a hint of mystery and intrigue.

“But I guess what attracted me to these balloons in the first place is the nice, happy, light feelings they give. As a whole, ‘Inflated Dreams’ is a little reminder for how we should live our lives… To simply let go and not worry about the nitty-gritties today which won’t really matter tomorrow.

Everything in Heima is just that...

“Finally, I wanted to imbibe the spirit of Heima in this series. Heima really is all about things made with love, inspiration, happiness, and whimsy–in fact, it’s been my happy place for nearly two years now!”

What particular medium do you love working with? Why? What types of media did you use for “Inflated Dreams”?

“I love working with pencils and watercolors. Pencil–not only because it was the first thing I worked with as a kid, but I really love the kind of control and precision I can have over the medium (I can go really soft and delicate, or hard and edgy with it), plus of course I can erase mistakes! As for watercolor–I love how fluid yet challenging it is at the same time. Both these media give off a very natural and organic feel, too, so I used them for ‘Inflated Dreams.’”