As someone who tends to be over-critical of both his own work and the work of others (hey, ya gotta have standards... ), it always pleases me to be able to give a positive review. Today even my fingers are smiling as I type how very impressed I am with Larry Moss' new book "Twisting History - Lessons in Balloon Sculpting."
This entertaining, illustrated book (yes, a real book! - 109 pages and spiral bound so that it lays flat while you twist) is great for kids of all ages. As opposed to the usual dry collection of instruction sheets, here a fictional, "twisted" history of the evolution of balloon life ties each chapter together into a coherent whole.
Larry must be a detail person like I am because clearly explained tips abound in this book. The introductory chapters contain an excellent discussion of balloons, covering sizes, care, storage and safety. There is a complete description of how to inflate a balloon by mouth and how to tie the knot - plus for those without the lung power there is an evaluation of the various types of balloon pumps on the market with a listing of the pros and cons for each model. All the fundamental twists are thoroughly described, as is making a pop-twist and putting a bubble inside a balloon. Terminology is defined and then consistently used throughout. With this strong, 16 page foundation in balloon modeling, any budding twister could go to a store and pick out just what he needed, then proceed with confidence.
Step-by-step instructions for creating a wide variety of balloon sculptures (my favorite is the 2 balloon helicopter - very creative!) are accompanied by numerous clear, computer-generated drawings. I only found one problem here - the knotted nozzle was not shown in the first figure for the parrot, which is unfortunate because the text refers to it. The softer artist's illustrations and accompanying story line keep you laughing. Both single and multiple balloon figures are presented. Experienced sculptors will be pleased that there's a lot of variety with very little repetition, and with the number of original sculptures not found in other books. I also like how Larry puts a few new twists on some basic figures.
Larry's performing experience comes through in his chapter entitled "Showing Off." There are numerous great ideas here for using balloons to entertain audiences, and even a whole routine. The price of this book is only $12.95 ($14.95 with a starter pack of balloons). Considering what other books of lesser quality are going for, I believe this to be a good value and think it would make a great gift for any budding twister; especially the young ones.
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