While I doubt that anyone will be looking for this kind of thing, I know that balloon art folks are very supportive of each other, and new people, so there may be a few people who actually read this after I post a link. So, hello out there!
My wife and I watched Jule and Julia, which is the true story of a NYC writer who commits to cooking every recipe in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in one year. I thought I could use a discipline like that, and as I am a new balloon twister, I should try making all the “recipes” in a classic resource. While I love the current work of so many great artists, and there is a 4DVD series that serves as a pretty good foundational work, the most agreed-upon fundamental book of this world is, bar none, Captain Visual’s Big Book of Balloon Art. It was first printed in 1995. So many advances in balloon art have come along since then, but the work in CV is still great stuff today.
Now it should not take a year to do this, so I’m shooting for a month. I broke up the book into 14 sections of per-day work. I am tempted to try to shoot for two weeks. However, with my regular work being unpredictable and having some very full days, that may be unrealistic. I will set it as a month-long project, with expectation that I will be done early.
I will post photos of each piece (some grouped together) on this blog.
I realize this is easy stuff to most twisters, and I am doing more complicated things already. However, learning fundamentals is essential in any craft or art. There’s no weaving here. There are no 40ft long dinosaurs. There are however, the beginnings of seeing balloons as a medium, and again, some pieces that still hold their own today in the exploding world of balloon sculpture.
The project begins March 1, 2010.
I will NOT be making this
A Month with Captain Visual 
February 27, 2010 at 4:11 pm |
Great start Weaver on both the blog and on ballooning. Captain Visual’s books are a great foundation. I am sure that soon you will be coming up with your own stuff. I look forward to your continuing adventures.
The Tie Dye Balloon Guy
February 27, 2010 at 6:53 pm |
Well, your idea is a good one, I got my blog after JoAnn and I saw the same Movie- I loved it- but not the ending. Kinda like Million Dollar Babywhere the Heroine buids her career just to die at the last scene. Frustrating for me. Good luck on your Journey, Also- I was not able to find a way to subscribe to this blog- this sounds interesting and I want to see where you end up!
February 27, 2010 at 6:57 pm |
Okay, the Subscription link came automatically in the follow up e-Mail.
Lets see where this takes you!
February 28, 2010 at 12:02 am |
This is a fun idea. I will follow it.
February 28, 2010 at 1:05 am |
Hey, I saw your post at balloonhq. I think it’s a great idea. I’d like to get back to the basics also. Good luck, I’ll be reading and twisting along.
February 28, 2010 at 5:46 am |
This is fantastic! I loved your stage show at Twist and Shout and I look forward to seeing more of you and your work in the future. If you want to succeed quickly with balloons and increase your skill as fast as possible, hang out with the greats and work lots and lots. Looking forward to seeing more…
Your Balloon Man,
Mr. Fudge.
March 1, 2010 at 6:28 pm |
Great start ! I am in the same process and am trying to post once a week and even then it’s easy to get busy and forget to update. Good Luck !
March 1, 2010 at 8:13 pm |
Hi Rev, Look forward to following your journey. You have come a long way in a short period of time. You are an inspiration.
/ralph
March 1, 2010 at 8:20 pm |
Thanks for all the encouragement folks! Day one just got posted.
March 2, 2010 at 4:35 am |
Wow, Andrew, what an honor! I’m looking forward to watching how you progress through the book. The highlights, of course are the smiles on your daughter’s face each time she gets to model the figures.
If readers express interest in finding the books here is a direct link to them on Lulu that you can share with them:
http://stores.lulu.com/captain_visual
I will be sure to post your blog on facebook.
March 14, 2010 at 9:30 am |
Hi There,
When i started twisting 5 years ago i did’t have a book or a cd or anything and to this day i still dont!!
I am a self taught twister..
But i think it’s great that you took the time out to get all the info to give the newbies a good start.
And for that I commend you.
Well done.
March 14, 2010 at 12:14 pm |
Thanks for the kind words. But I hope no one is construing the project as an attempt to put someone’s book out for free. I think every twister should buy a copy. It’s back in print after some time out of print. There are lots of free videos online and lots of great sites for sharing. But some things should just be on our shelves, and this is one of them.