Lift was a public event where over one hundred participants were able to experience the sensation of floating freely through space as if weightless. With a slight kick off the ground, heights of thirty to sixty feet were possible.

Lift was the culmination of two years of research that not only entailed designing the structure and lots of conversations with engineers and materials scientists, but I also met with various university officials, police officers, the fire department, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

My main interests in pursuing this project were of potential and possibility, both of myself and the university and realizing how unique an opportunity it is to work within a university. The idea of flight is something that i have dreamed about since i was a child, and I wanted to make that dream available to people. Furthermore, Lift was intended as a very accessible art event, something that anyone who happened to be there could experience. The event successfully brought people together and created a very explicit energy and feeling of inspiration.

Thanks to Katy Castronovo, Anthony Peluso, Sarah Weinstock, Dina Sherman, Grant Fletcher, Charlie Roberts, Amery Kessler, Naomi Cleary, Sky Shineman, Lauren Scanlon, Erin Vernon, Nick Terrible, Crispen Webb, and Andy Barchus for helping to make Lift possible!

A special thank you to Tim Elverston of WindFire Designs for taking the time to be a part of this project, and for his skilled hand in sewing the structure of the balloon together. Thanks Tim!

To view a blog documenting the complete project, please visit www.floatup.blogspot.com