Miscellaneous Ramblings

Jeff Brown, creator of Balloons Around the World Check out other photos from Balloons Around the World 2001. View the photos from the 2000 event.

• Balloons Around the World (Balloons Across America grows up)
• A stunning artist portfolio
• Learning to create your own portfolio

Balloons Around the World (Balloons Across America grows up)

Balloons are fun. We know that. Our clients know that. There are still quite a few people left in the world that haven't yet learned the joys of balloons. That's why Jeff Brown of Juneau, Alaska has, for the second year in a row, organized balloon artists around the world in an event designed to make people smile at the site of our artwork.

October 4, 2000 marked the first event of the kind. It was called Balloons Across America. Jeff asked twisters on BHQ to join him in only one hour of giving away balloons. He never imagined what would happen. Almost immediately, twisters around the world, not just in the US, offered to assist in a day of fun. So much for just an hour of giving away balloons. This turned into a full day where artists performed, taught twisting, and constructed large displays for nothing other than a bit of recognition.

Soon after it ended, Jeff started planning the 2001 event. Hundreds of participants signed up and many others just went to work without listing themselves on the official roster. It's sure to be even larger next year.

View photos of large sculptures and twisters at work during this year's event.

A stunning artist portfolio

A number of BHQ members have been hard at work constructing online portfolios. With the new features of the BHQ portfolio system, this has gotten easier, and the results better than before.

Su Laswick gets credit this month for the most photo uploads to BHQ and therefore the largest member portfolio. She's put a lot of effort into sharing. Take a look at her pics.

A few other people have been busy building BHQ portfolios. See how others are using them. If there's interest, we'll make sure to feature someone else next month.

Learning to Create your own portfolio

Building a portfolio that you can use to show off to your clients is easy. If you missed the tutorial that was recently posted to the twister and decorator mailing lists, you can still read it on the web.