Artist: Elisabeth Ladwig
Title: Once in a Lifetime
Medium: Photo Collage Print (Unframed)
Dimensions: Please Select

Unframed fine art prints. Printed on museum-grade, textured fine art paper (100% rag archival). 

18"h x 12"w: Edition of 28
27"h x 18"w: Edition of 17
35" h x 23"w: Edition of 7
54"h x 36"w: Edition of 5

"When we think of once-in-a-lifetime events, we often think big: a grand celebration, a journey, a miracle, maybe even a tragedy. Or maybe we recall the solar eclipse that attracted a group of complete strangers around someone’s pinhole camera in midtown Manhattan. (I was one of those strangers.) Truth be told: the idea of something happening only once in a lifetime used to stress me out. I felt pressured to remember every detail of something that would soon be over. We take pictures so we don’t forget; but if we’re too busy taking a picture to experience it emotionally, we may remember little more than, well, taking the picture. Maybe we shouldn’t set our expectations so high. Isn’t every day once in a lifetime? Embracing a sense of wonder each day seems all but impossible as we race through the endless redundancy of métro-boulot-dodo. It requires a conscious decision to stop and take notice of a simple flower or a leaf or an insect we’ve seen a thousand times before, to take just 60 seconds to study it up close for the sole purpose of appreciating it. We can create our own once-in-a-lifetimes right here, right now. They don’t have to be grandiose, but when they are… John Muir said: “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” A good look at it. No, really. Look. At it." Elizabeth Ladwig

"Once in a Lifetime" is a surreal artwork that combines elements of nature and the cosmos in a dream-like composition. At the forefront, a young woman with pink hair wearing a long blue dress stands with her back to the viewer, her right hand extended as a perched bird rests. She is joined by a variety of farm animals which include a pig, a goat, a chicken, a dog, and an owl, that are gazing upwards. They are all observing a striking scene of oversized planets suspended in a night sky. The planets are aligned in a vertical sequence, varying in size, colors, and textures, showcasing a fantastical celestial event in a space that merges earthy landscapes with cosmic phenomena. The overall aesthetic is one of enchantment, inviting contemplation of the mysterious universe and our place within it.