Vermillion residents began to notice balloon sculptures popping up around town at the beginning of April. Citizens had been sheltering-in-place for a few weeks by then and the extra splash of color was welcome.
Before Michelle Turner and her family moved to town, they had lived in Georgia. Turner was a teacher at a local university. First-year students in one of her classes worked on a community service project benefiting the Boys and Girls Club. The group determined that they would create balloon art at a fair. “I got the materials for my class,” says Turner. “We watched some YouTube videos and made basic balloon dogs and flowers and a couple of hats at the fair. What I found is that I really enjoyed it and that I had a knack for it.”
Red Bird Balloons became Turner’s side business when they came to Clay County. Turner is a mental health counselor full time for USD. Word-of-mouth provides opportunity for sculpture orders sculptures. Turner enjoys the pastime so much, she manipulates air-filled tubes of latex to bring joy to others.
Spring of 2020 brought another opportunity for community service. “COVID hit and my kids were home from school,” says Turner.” It'd been two weeks. I was seeing that they were feeling really stir crazy. I was thinking, what can I do? I asked my husband what he thought about doing a balloon hunt for the community, as well as for our kids. He thought it was a great idea.”
Balloon art appears to be intricate and must consume hours of time to create. Turner sets down, vision in mind and can twist them out with great proficiency. One April morning Turner made five sculptures and placed them around Vermillion. “I put them on telephone poles. I had one hiding kind of on a gas meter. I posted on my Facebook that it was my version of a bear hunt. I took my kids on it and they loved it. We had a good time. But the response from that was just amazing.”
The pop-up art display was intended as a one-and-done event. Reactions from folks who toured the pieces while on family walks and bike rides was astounding. Turner could only continue. She shared movie characters, storybook icons, flowers, musical instruments, animals and other miscellaneous figures.
For some three months, four-to-six sculptures could be found at sites throughout Vermillion each weekend. Increasing temperatures isn’t kind to the ai- filled sculptures. Their life spans are already limited and South Dakota weather can compound the issue. Mid-July, Turner stepped back and now creates just one piece to share with folks cruising through town.
Social distancing has been a tough road to navigate for many. As a mental health professional, Turner feels that her side gig helps support her life’s work. “If I can do anything that will help cheer someone up, I would like to do that. Balloons are kind of magical. It doesn't matter your age, you feel that magic. Right now we could use some magic. It's been rough past few months.”