Exploring the Unknown

A balloon, a song in the storm, and a calm reflection.

Thoughts on Exploring the Unkown

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about exploring the imagination and how much our creative choices depend on stepping into decisions that don’t make any sense.

In my latest trilogy of artwork (not sure why I love making things in threes), I keep circling back to the theme of exploring the unknown.

When comparing them, they feel like three chapters of the same wordless story, yet uniquely intertwined in some strange way.

Grab a coffee, sit back and relax as you join me in this strange journey into uncertainty.

My Balloon

Letting go

“It’s not mine,” he said as he watched his red balloon slip from control as it chose its new course as if it were destined for freedom.

For a small moment, he panicked. “What did I do?”

But after a few moments, he understood his balloon was never his to begin with. Watching it slowly disappear into the horizon was the hardest part. Perhaps if he looked away it would make it easier?

Uncertainty, he finally realized, isn’t about holding on to what you love, but letting it go without fully understanding why it’s the right decision.

And when he realized that, he decided to go on his own adventure.

The Song of Adventure

Staring into the face of danger

Not long after setting sail, the red waves angrily rose with aggression. His tiny boat seemed unbothered as it rose and fell with the crimson walls.

Then he heard it.

A beautiful melody that reminded him of a lullaby his grandmother sung to him as a child.

“Is that what I think it is?“ he questioned while peering overboard.

He remembered that his grandmother sung stories of adventure and dreamed of sailing the crimson sea.

For the first time in his life, he felt free. Just like the red balloon.

The Rock Foundation

The boat has landed

Not long after, the sea rested as if never disturbed. Barely a wave was noticed.

He wasn’t sure how he fell overboard, nor did he fully understand how the boat quietly rested on the top of the giant rock as if it climbed there on its own.

He floated for a while as a bird perched on his favorite black hat.

“Hello there,” he said.

He realized then that uncertainty had its own journey, and that sometimes it’s better to walk into the unknown in order to see the world differently.

Reflections

After seeing these illustrations together, it made me realize how the creative process pulls on threads of subconscious uncertainty.

Letting go and allowing your curiosity take you on a tumultuous journey isn’t always understood until after the calm.

I lost my father 2 years ago to pancreatic cancer. When he died, a part of me died with him. I stopped making art for a while, but I remembered that he told me to never quit. Perhaps this is a love letter to him.

Perhaps this is exactly what you needed today.

Thanks for exploring it with me.