Sculpted in meticulous detail and bright colors, Chris Ahalt's animal balloon series contrasts powerful animals and the fragile balance of their existence.  Hours of intensive work and a thorough mastery of the material result in a deceptively simple glass balloon which is then strung up on copper wire with hand-forged ridges emulating real ribbon, and tethered to small weights.  The flexibility of the wire enhances the illusion of real balloons slightly swaying back and forth. Balloons suggest celebration, children and wonder, and the iconic animals appeal to those child-like sensibilities as well.  We grow up with a favorite animal, and yet, as we grow older, we lose that sense of intimacy and so we also forget the fragile nature of the lives or our childhood animal friends; so many of them now perilously endangered.  Some of the balloons, such as the rhino, have their legs bound alluding to the precarious environments created for them by humans, confronting the viewer with a mixture of playfulness and harsh reality.