by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo
The sky is literally the limit for Jonathan Wolfe, an artist who makes his own hot air balloons.
Wolfe's art is on display at Winning Coffee for the rest of October. The show includes a fascinating collection of photographs of one of his balloons, framed silk tapestries and vibrant fractal patterns.
"I'm really excited about creating a whole new artistic medium that's growing tremendously," he said.
Wolfe uses a rather unusual method in crafting hot air balloons - tie-dye. He said he always had a love for hot air balloons while growing up in Albuquerque and he first got the idea to create his unique balloons in 1993 while making tie-dyes with a friend.
"We were hanging out late one night making tie-dyes and brain storming, and I thought, oh my god, we could tie-dye balloons" Wolfe said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
He finished his first balloon in 1996, got his pilot's license in 1998 and flew in Balloon Fiesta for the first time in 2000.
Last week, Wolfe took his unique blend of science, nature and tie-dye to the skies.
He flew his latest balloon seven times during the Balloon Fiesta and even tied the knot during one of those trips. Wolf married Tania Goldfeder Oct. 6 aboard his hot air balloon.
Wolf said it was a great way to share the joy and beauty of his marriage and his art with balloon enthusiasts.
"Balloon Fiesta is a peak time of the year for the balloon community and my friends and family were here from all over the world," he said.
Wolfe is particularly proud of the balloon he is currently working on.
"You'll be able to see the fractal pattern from a mile away," he said. "It will be mind boggling."
Wolfe said that his balloons are inspired by fractals - "infinitely complex, self-similar patterns" that are the visual expression of chaos theory.
In the last few decades, chaos theory was developed by mathematicians, physicists and scientists to explore natural phenomena in a way that recognizes nature's unpredictable behavior. Benoit Mandelbrot developed fractal geometry in the 1960s and 1970s as the primary mathematical basis for the theory.
Wolfe's mission is to use tie-dye to reveal the expression and beauty of fractals in mathematics and nature.
"I love teaching people about that, and also using those concepts artistically," he said.
Wolfe's balloons are one of several projects of SkyDyes, a business he co-owns with T'Brin Back. SkyDyes also creates tie-dyed clothing - or, as Back put it, "wearable sky-dye arts" - computerized fractal performances and other fractal and tie-dye inspired art.
