Beam Me Up Scotty

Creativity is anything but linear—it zigzags, jumps timelines, and moves like a dream sequence where scenes unfold in no logical order. I live for that! And the journey of Apollo 11 is straight out of the Twilight Zone. It started with an image I stumbled across in a Google search—an old technical drawing of a man’s head. Something about it unsettled me. Was it positive? Negative? I wasn’t sure, but the pull was undeniable. My first instinct was to dismiss it. A year later, while scrolling through my camera roll, there he was again. This time, the fear had shifted to fascination—he reminded me of an alchemist which is a positive association, so I dug deeper. Turns out, the image was created by a French artist in the 1500s. The question is—Why did I keep circling back to something from 500+ years ago?

Fast forward another six months—one of my framed pictures fell off the mantel and shattered on the concrete floor. Instead of replacing the glass, I started experimenting with film and plastics, layering materials to create a 3D effect. That was the spark— I reworked the image with new colorways, modernized the highlights, and integrated my signature materials—thread and magnets—left over from my Strung series. The first Apollo 11 prototype was born in May 2022.

Cue the synchronicities—A few months later, a woman I follow on Instagram raved about a book. I bought it on a whim—The Wealth Mindset by Neville Goddard. The moment I started reading, my mind was spinning—because Apollo 11 was a visual representation of the book. And the book? A perfect reflection of Apollo 11. How was that even possible?

But the real kicker? The name Apollo 11 had been with me since 2019—before I discovered the man’s head, before the book, before everything. It was inspired by a piece of music I heard in a CNN documentary trailer. Just 20 seconds of sound, but it cracked something open in me. In that moment, every heavy thought—fear, doubt, hesitation—melted away and I felt light, free, inspired! That very same energy led me to the French man’s head—That’s why I trust him. That’s why I believe in this work. I was fully present in the making of it—no overthinking, no self-judgment, no anxiety about the past or future. Just pure creation—Where all artists thrive.

Oh, and that song? Turns out, it was called Pure Imagination—the very space where creators live and breathe. Even wilder? It was recorded on my birthday. You can’t script this kind of alignment. If you know Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, you get the vibe—but this version? It’s edgier. Deeper. More soulful.

Take a listen. Maybe it’ll spark something in you, too :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to this song