“Did you just break that balloon?” is a comment from a guest attending a 1st birthday party. “Yes, I did” is my reply. In fact, it seems I cannot make a balloon animal nowadays without breaking a balloon. It is ironic that the more skilled I become at twisting balloons animals, the more efficient I become at breaking them.
I have been balloon twisting since 1984 and it has become apparent to me that my quest for perfection in creating the best balloon animals possible, requires me to break more balloons to create the balloon animal. I guess this is one reason why people prefer to pay me by the hour, not the balloon. Thinking about it, this is the only job I can think of where you need to break an object just so you can create it.
Being a multiple balloon entertainer, means I work with very long balloons – 60 inches to be exact. Many of the creations I build are only 8-12 inches in size—so customization is required. Breaking the balloon is part of the design process and I break at least one balloon per creation. Mickey Mouse for example is completely made from broken or as I like to think of is as custom balloons. Sometime I can get over zealous and breaking the balloons too soon, which causes me to inflate another balloon just to break it off to finish the design. Consequently, when a balloon breaks on its own, it really does not bother me. I simply add a balloon on and keep twisting.
Long gone are the days of twisting a single balloon into a balloon animal. Novice balloon entertainers fear the breaking of balloons, while I excel at it. The excess balloons are sometimes recycled into other designs, which decrease my breaks, but still many times, I find myself taking a brand new, 60-inch balloon and breaking it. So if you ever see me twist a balloon, do not be surprised if I break it. It is just part of the building process.
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