Captured Sky Art: Michelle Nirumandrad:
Michelle knows how empowering and freeing skydiving can be since she is an avid skydiver herself. At Skydive Spaceland-Dallas she is known as “bubbles.” Those who know Michelle understand how she got this nickname. She is always positive, upbeat, and never sits still. She is so energetic she puts the Energizer Bunny to shame.
Michelle started “Capture Sky” a very unique business in July 2013 where she creates artwork in the sky during freefall at 120 miles per hour and while under parachute. Michelle’s artwork is so unique she was in the book, Beyond the Bizarre! It was the 16th book in the bestselling series from Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Michelle’s web site describes her work as follows:
Captured Sky is a concept born out of a profound love for the sky and the overwhelming desire to lay claim to a small piece of it for ourselves. Created during freefall skydive(s), this artwork is crafted entirely above ground, in the sky, and is untouched by human hand. While in freefall or under canopy, paints and other medians are released into the wind towards canvas and cloth to create stunning images literally painted by the sky.
From the time I decided to stop talking about it and take action to start 2 Miles of Smiles, Michelle has been there encouraging me. Therefore, it was no surprise when Michelle came out to the drop zone to “capture some sky” during our inaugural event on August 31, 2019.
Michelle has always wanted to create a piece specifically for 2 Miles of Smiles, but with 4 kids I wasn’t sure it would happen anytime soon. Well, being the person she is, Michelle wasn’t going to let her wife and parenting duties stop her from giving back to a cause she believes in. Therefore, on April 22, 2023, Michelle specifically came out to Skydive Spaceland-Dallas during our monthly event to create a signature piece for 2 Miles of Smiles.
Prior to her jump, she stenciled a cancer awareness ribbon on a canvas which included a feather as part of the design to symbolize protection. Michelle made the ribbon lavender, since that color is the sign of support for those living with all types of cancer.
We had 4 people skydiving that day so they all got to see Michelle in action. Everyone was intrigued watching her shimmy into her jumpsuit, secure the waist belt that contained the paints she would use, donning on her helmet with a GoPro attached and finally strapping on the canvas.
We all watched as Michelle rushed out to the plane (well, as fast as she could with a canvas strapped to her leg) and board the plane that would take her 14,000 feet in the air so she could exit the plane and during free fall and under parachute unclip the paints from her waist belt and open them one at a time to let the sky create a masterpiece.
Watch the video of Michelle's skydive as she and the sky created our signature piece.
Once Michelle landed, we all greeted her to see what she and the blue sky created. I have seen Michelle painting in the sky before, so I knew what she would look like upon her return, but the others had no clue and started laughing at her appearance all splatted in paint. It makes sense that not only the canvas gets splattered with paint, but so does the artist.
I was so grateful that Michelle made a special trip to the drop zone and used her talents to support 2 Miles of Smile with a signature masterpiece. If a picture paints a thousand words, then this photo says it all about my emotions that day and how blessed I felt.
After the canvas was painted by Michelle and the sky, she took it home for some touch-ups. Then she personalized it by burning the jump details into the wood frame on the back, packaged it and provided a Certificate of Authenticity.
The masterpiece is now complete and 2 Miles of Smiles is the proud owner of this beautiful piece of artwork. Thank you, Michelle, for using your talents and time to support 2 Miles of Smiles.
Too see other pieces in Michelle’s collection and become the proud owner of your own piece of Captured Sky you can visit her website using the link below:
Please post your ideas on what we could do with this beautiful piece of artwork to benefit the organization.