Inspirations for project two began as I reflected on my nomadic way of life.
As a circus performer who has worked professionally in the industry for over four years, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to live on the road. And it’s definitely not as glamorous as you might imagine being in stage would be. The thing about most circuses is they’re located in the middle of nowhere. That means for two to six months, maybe even a year or two years, you don’t have a home. The home is the tent. The home is the forest, the lake, or the sea in the distance. The home is nothing that you can prepare yourself for properly until you’re on your own.
But in a way, my nomadic experiences have also been the most beautiful parts of my life. Learning to rely on myself to survive in the wilderness made me realize I was a lot stronger than I thought I was.
My choice to make the minis was to reflect on the idea that your life must fit in a suitcase as a nomad, you must forsake most material possessions or luxuries, in order to make it feasible as a solo traveler. I learned that once I spent a week without Internet that a lot of digital communication is what gave me a sense of internal safety. Without the constant chatter of the world around me to distract from my own thoughts, I was able to completely teach myself foot archery over the course of three and a half years.
There are some days I miss the wild, and I hope I will go back eventually. But until then I’ve traded in my sparkles and glitter for a cap and gown, wanting to give myself balance between both sides of my life.
And after graduation who knows, I’m off to the next adventure!