One October, Rosenberg chose to celebrate LGBTQ History Month by twisting a series of pride flags for various identities.

“I learned a lot [from the project]; every time I posted a flag or put it on my website it was accompanied by some information and resources in case someone wanted to learn more,” she said.

In twisting flags and researching different sexual orientations and gender identities, Rosenberg learned more about the LGBTQ+ community, and also about herself.

“In that process I found my own identity. I’ve always known I wasn’t straight, but I wasn’t sure what to call it,” she said. “I’m leaning more towards bisexual, but we’ll see.”

In addition to learning things about herself, Rosenberg encourages everyone to take the time to learn about others, too.

“I’ve met people who definitely don’t support the [LGBTQ+] community and it can be really harmful and dangerous,” she said. “I think if people knew more about it maybe they wouldn’t be so fearful.”

When she first started, she said each flag could take over four hours to complete, but now that she’s been practicing for six years, her artform is a chance to relax and listen to audiobooks or music while she works.

In 2018, Rosenberg turned her passion into a business, and she now performs balloon twisting at parties and other events and can be booked through her website.

Rosenberg hopes the educational work she does has an impact, and more than anything wants to encourage others to put in the work to learn more about things they don’t understand.

“Generally try to understand people … learn about other communities and respect people,” she said.

Corbett Stevenson is a journalism intern at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at corbettstevenson@rmpbs.org

Alexis Kikoen is a senior producer at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.