The following is a review of the book The Art of Balloon Twisting Vol 1. This review is not a reflection of the artist, but a review of the material presented in the book.
This was the first book that Rick Mohr wrote. Ricks’ vision was to write a series of these books, but he’s revised his thinking and is now producing instructional puppet DVDs. The book size and layout were encouraged by me and I participated as the photographer for this book; with that said, here is my review.
The first three pages explain the basic balloon types and how to mouth inflating along with the basic balloon twisting terminology. The book explains twelve different twists in detail with step-by-step black and white photographs. Rick selected a cloud scene as the background which I find impairs the quality of the photographs. At the time of production, we used a 3-megapixel camera which was one of the best – but compared to present-day standards is lacking. To create a visual appeal, Rick used vertical lines to show progression between the photographs which is not required and is distracting. The step-by-step pictures are straightforward and easy enough to follow.
For the instructional step-by-step photographs, Rick utilized the same cloud background, but the clouds are hardly noticeable. The book has well-written instructions and the step-by-step photographs make it easy to follow. Again some pictures lack detail clarity or sharpness.
My overall impression of this book is that it meets all the requirements to be a good beginner’s book. A beginner would find this book useful and with a little practice will be able to make all the balloon animal designs. Intermediate and advanced balloon twisters are not going to be wowed by the book, but that is not the market audience chosen for this book.
[Rating: 3.75]This is my opinion of this book. If your opinion is, right on or no-way with my rating, you can cast your vote by clicking on the stars above my name. Objective criticism is accepted, as long as, it is not abrasive, rude, or demeaning.
I haven’t seen this book personally, but I know Rick well and he’s a great guy as well as a talented and innovative balloon artist. He has been coming out to the monthly Chicago Balloon Jam, so if any twisters would like to meet Rick and are in the Chicagoland area, please don’t miss our regular jam the 4th Thursday of every month in Evanston. Details are at chicagoballoonjam.com. I’d invite Dale to come out, but I think he’s got a family night on Thursdays – he’s the hardest workin’ twisting in the biz!!