And now, a word on Balloon Animals; or, as I discovered, Balloon Modelling

Despicable Me  is a relatively charming, totally forgettable movie. For all intents and purposes, you have seen this movie before, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I fell asleep half-way into it and didn't feel at all bad about that.

But one scene led me to wonder a bit about balloon animal-making (you could say that Despicable Me is less than fully engaging).

To whit: the following is from an interview with Art "Jolly the Clown" Petri:


"One odd thing that I remember from the early days [assumedly on the balloon modelling scene]  was encountering a few twisters who thought that I was doing balloons all wrong. Their opinion was that it wasn't true balloon sculpturing if you used a pump or if you used a marking pen. Accordingly to them, inflating by mouth added moisture to the balloon which somehow made it better. I don't know where that philosophy came from. But I was curious to find out if there was something to it. So I tried twisting dozens of balloon that had been mouth inflated against dozens that had been pump inflated. I found no difference. At any rate, I haven't heard that philosophy in about 20 years, so it looks like it may have died out. My opinion is that if adding a few marks on a balloon makes it look better or if it gives it a personality, then why not do it? After all, who are we trying to please, the person receiving the balloon or some type of balloon police?"

If you're scoring at home, Mr. Jolly intimates that such disciplines as balloon twisting philosophy and theory have a rich history. Furthermore, the field is rife with issues surrounding the practical application of conceptual bricolage.  What is most terrifying, surely, is a coded suggestion alluding to a clandestine and shadowy enforcement of construction protocol by, surely, some well-funded, paramilitary organization. 

How deep does the rabbit-hole go? Glad you asked.

The Ohio College of Clowning Arts
Founded in 1989, in Akron, Ohio, (we can only imagine the road not taken), The Funny Shop Comedy Club upgraded to full college status in 2002 - seemingly to clear-up a dispute (my guess is intellectual property issues) with Ringling Brothers. True to form, the Board of Directors is composed largely of clowns (and Pat Julian - the Director of Operations at "a large furniture manufacturing company"). 

Curriculum Includes:
Clown Characterization
Performance Practicum and Costuming
Balloons and Magic for Clown

Founder Robert Kriedler, a.k.a. Rufus D. Dufus, passed away in 2010. He is sorely missed, but his spirit lives on.


So... there you go.