About this Project

My name is Jordan Selha and I am taking a class in Art Concepts.  One of my assignments is to create an art project that expresses the idea of memory and utilizes a form of mail art.  To fulfill the assignment, I have "released" helium balloons into the world*.  Each balloon includes a message inviting the recipient to visit this blog to participate in a dialogue.  If you have been directed to this site from an Aired Memoirs Balloon, I invite you to post your comments about having received the balloon.  Tell us your thoughts and feelings when you first encountered the balloon and share any memories that may have been triggered by it.

If you discovered this website on your own, or followed a link from another site, feel free to  leave your own thoughts about the project and/or any memories it evokes for you.

Why balloons?  One of my strongest memories from childhood is waking up in the morning to find helium balloons floating down into our yard.  This happened on at least one occasion and it included a return address inside.  I used to dream about this regularly and I remember laying on the grass in our front yard (see background photo) wishing for it to happen again.  The idea of communicating via balloon was appealing to me as it spoke to an interest in fantasy, random occurrence, and adventure as well as a desire to be linked to others outside of my very small, quaint existence in rural Iowa.  



*Due to environmental concerns, I tied the balloons where they could be easily found on cars that were in short term parking lots (grocery stores, second hand stores, restaurants, mall, gas station, drug store).  In most cases, I tied them to car antenna or door handle.