Did you ever see a good balloon artist? I mean a balloon artist that makes more than a dog or a sword? There are some out there who are amazing.
Balloon modelling or balloon twisting is the shaping of special modelling balloons into almost any given shape, very often a balloon animal. People who create balloon animals and other twisted balloon sculptures are called Twisters, Balloon Benders and Balloon Artists.
There are two primary design styles: “single balloon modelling” and “multiple balloon modelling” which uses more than one balloon. The origins of balloon modelling are a little murky. The 1975 book by “Jolly the Clown” Petri credits “Herman Bonnert from Pennsylvania at a magician’s convention in 1939” as being the first balloontwister. Val Andrews, in Manual of Balloon Modeling, Vol. 1, An Encyclopedic Series, credits H.J. Bonnert of Scranton, Pennsylvania as being the “daddy of them all.” Jim Church III states, “Frank Zacone from Youngstown, Ohio was doing a balloon act during the 1940s and had been doing the act for some time.” Another candidate for first balloon artist is Henry Maar. Regardless of who the original was I have two favorites: S. Frank Stringham and Tawney Bubbles. You can see some of the balloon artistry of S here and Tawney here.
A balloon artist typically uses the most common size of twisting balloon called a “260”, as it is approximately two inches in diameter and 60 inches long. A “160” is 1×60 inches when fully blown up. These are the most common sizes used but there are dozens of other shapes available as well. The balloons come in all the colors of the rainbow as well.
Here are a couple fun pieces created by a balloon artist:
If you would like to create some balloon animals or even become a top notch balloon artist like S or Tawney you should start with the basics like a dog or a sword. There are several good sources for learning balloon artistry. You can always check you local library or visit balloon-animals.com or About.com. There you will learn the basics and perhaps even get good enough to make a viking hat for someone and make them smile.
Can you make balloon animals? Share your thoughts in the comments. Would love to hear from you.
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