Wood, cast bronze, printed mylar balloon with helium and ribbon

74 x 60 x 32 in.

This piece was made for a two-person exhibition I had called Welcome Home, with Katie B. Temple, at the Fred Simon Gallery of the Nebraska Arts Council. Katie and I approached that theme differently, and to strong effect. For me, it was an opportunity to identify with a place I had grown up in, left deliberately, spent 22 years away from, and moved back to. I wasn’t comfortable yet, even 4 years after returning.