When Erin Barylski was about
five years old, she discovered a rare talent. She could do the splits, then hop
from that position, entirely on the strength of her inner thighs. She'd then
land right on the, uh, bottom of her torso -- before her thighs sent her upward
again. "I was always showing off to my friends," she says. "I was in gymnastics,
and it was the way to finish off a routine. I would do it at the end of high
school pep rallies and at parties."
Barylski currently lives in west Broward, but she was raised in Northeast Ohio. Having just graduated from Kent State
University, Barylski heard a radio advertisement for local auditions. Soon she
was doing the hopping splits across a stage at a Cleveland comedy venue.
In
2005, after moving to Naples, David Letterman's people tracked her down and
invited her to split-hop for his show's "stupid human tricks"
segment. (Video after the jump.)
With
Letterman at her side, Barylski requested a "light drumroll," then gave this
adrenaline-fueled performance.
"I bounced as high and as hard and as fast as I
ever have," she recalls. "I've never had such a rush."
The rush of that Letterman appearance soon wore off, however, and Barylski
wanted more. "I thought, 'What can I do to prolong this 15 minutes of fame?'"
she says. "One of my friends came up with the idea to make art out of
it."
Barylski had always painted in the conventional way, but this peculiar
gift could make a nice gimmick. She painted her legs, then while doing the
splits, hopped across a blank canvas.
The result is something of a Rorschach
test. If you didn't know how the paintings were created, you might guess that
the symmetrical patterns were of a great winged creature against the horizon.
But it's the art's creation that makes it distinctive, and even Barylski admits
that some in her audience will have a more erotic reaction.
"There are going
to be people who say it's a sexual thing," she says. The comments thread on her
Youtube clip confirms as much. "I just try to laugh it off."
Barylski, who
tends bar at a restaurant on A1A, has about a half-dozen finished works and
plans to make her pitch to South Florida gallery owners after she's added to
her portfolio.
For now, though, Barylski is expanding her oeuvre by exploring yoga
poses and legwear. She says she gets better texture from laced stockings and
fishnets. "It's not all about the hop," she says.
I met Barylski last week and she was kind enough to give us a demonstration, wearing a bit more than she usually does in order that the video be suitable for family blogs like this one. I'm still cobbling that video together. Be sure to check the Juice tomorrow.
