This month marks my first as a full-time artist, and the hot air balloon has become my guiding symbol. From their history as daring innovations to their invitation into beauty and uncertainty, balloons embody the leap into something entirely new. They remind us that the basket can hold what is most precious, but to rise, we must also let go of ballast.

The Nouvelle Aube Hot Air Balloon Seal is both functional and a work of art. Only eleven have been created. Each features a hand-painted balloon handle, uniquely rendered, and each carries one of my own desires. The balloons are not chosen individually. They will be sent in order, one through eleven, according to the sequence of collection. With every seal, I send a letter naming a wish I am willing to be seen in. That letter also offers you, the collector, a prompt to name a specific wish of your own, an intention to rise with as we share this symbolic flight together.

This seal bears the inscription Nouvelle Aube, “new dawn.” It will never be made again. Though I may design other balloons in the future, this work belongs to this singular moment, a moment of taking flight together. To collect one is to share a place in the basket, to rise toward new perspectives, and to be carried exactly where the wind intends us to go.