Miscellaneous Ramblings

• Chris Horne's recent US tour
• Featured member portfolio
• Unusual uses for balloons

This Chris Horne creation was presented at the PA seminar.

Chris Horne's recent US tour

Chris Horne, award winning UK balloon decor instructor, recently taught a series of seminars throughout the United States. Our BHQ roving reporter, Debbie Piotrowski, was happy to abandon her family for a day to attend the Pittsburg, PA seminar.

Debbie writes:
I was excited to attend this seminar, because I admire Chris' amazing artwork, and was hoping to spark some new ideas for my business.

Chris made several entrance pieces such as a clown arch, a sea monster and a giant spider arch. We learned about "Working smarter, not harder. " My favorite part was when he demonstrated creating corporate logos using the mosaic tile/puzzle piece technique. I had learned the technique years ago from Bruce Walden, but I forgot that I knew it. It was nice to see something old revised and refined.

The clown arch used 646 balloons and smiley face balloons along with other simple balloons that you would use every day. The sea monster was segmented into three free-standing pieces. The detail in the eyes and with 260 balloons added greatly to the piece . The spider incorporated 3-foot balloons and 646's for the body and head. Class volunteers assisted Chris in the construction of these pieces.

Chris also worked with foam board to create different pieces. I learned how to make his famous distorted faces, and he showed us how to create a roman column with 260's. He also presented useful time saving techniques. I drove several hours to attend the seminar, and I would do it again without hesitation.

I would like to thank the nice people from Western PA QBN who sponsored this event. I met some very nice people from PA, Maryland and Canada.

An owl hat by Ralph Dewey

This month's featured artist portfolio

Ralph Dewey has been a leader in the balloon entertainment world for many years. He seems never to run out of ideas, and is always willing to share them. Hi is one of the most prolific authors on balloon twisting. Aside from having a great online portfolio, we're thrilled to have Ralph as a regular BHQ columnist. The collection of sculptures on display in his portfolio is just a tiny sampling of Ralph Dewey's tremendous body of work.

Visit Ralph's portfolio.

Unusual balloon uses

We use balloons to make people smile, but the folks at NASA have some rather different ideas about how balloons should be used. Larry Hirsch sent us this NASA video showing the popping of a water balloon in a low-gravity environment. The experiment was conducted on a NASA Lewis DC-9 aircraft.

The above sequence shows a water balloon being burst in near zero gravity.

Visit NASA's site to read more about the water balloon experiment (includes video clips). NASA scientists use balloons for other things as well. Check them out:

Inflatable Rovers
Toys, Balloons, and Serious Science