Artist’s Statements “Self With Balloon” -- Journal Cover Art After I developed the idea for this piece, it translated completely differently onto the taskboard, but I was okay with that - it’s a large part of the reason I decided to make it the first of a series. Initially, this piece was intended to communicate a mood of serenity and calmness, yet as it revealed to be a much darker representation, teeming with chaos, I realized I liked it much better that way. This work represents a detachment from reality that can be identified by anyone, it symbolizes an alternate essence of the human perception of what reality is and could be. - Mercedes Olmsted
“Homeward Bound” -- CD Cover Art I took the image “Homeward Bound” in my hometown of Gallatin Gateway, Montana in the summer of 2012. In the background, you see the beautiful Rocky Mountains, a range I always associate with home. It was taken on the highway right off the dirt road of my childhood home. The concept of this picture came from the idea of being a small town girl and the universal feeling of wanting to break out and start a new life. There’s something to be said about the time in a teenager’s life when they’re ignorant of life outside the outskirts of town. There’s beauty in the unknown. This photo will always remind me of that time in my life when I was young: Infinite and crazy and reckless. That feeling was fun. And free. And a little dangerous. Driving around late at night on roads I had known my whole life, but somehow feel so different when you’re behind the wheel, controlling the fate of the car, is a feeling I’ll never forget. I hope this image captures how small I felt, like the toy car in this picture. I was easily crushed in the real world, but still brave enough to keep on driving, because that’s all I knew how to do. I didn’t know where I was going, but I was rushing there 90 miles an hour, young blood coursing through my veins.
So here’s to the brave and courageous, young and unafraid. -Danni Jo Bechtold
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