December 11 - Savannah Animals

"The wilderness holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask."

~ Nancy Newhall

There's a strange sort of peace at a watering hole in the Savannah.

Creatures that normally keep a healthy distance drift into the same circle. Even the biggest bodies and sharpest horns manage to leave room at the edges.

No creature claims the resource, they simply take what they need and step away.

Can you even imagine a creature behaving otherwise? Truly unimaginable ... ...

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These are another couple examples from Patrick Van De Ven's "Holy Snail" design technique.   So far so good for handling ANY creature!


(view other rhino or zebra)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Patrick Van De Ven:

July 18 - Jojo Rhino

"Storms make trees take deeper roots."

~ Dolly Parton

In the far reaches of the Mistless Wastes, Dawgs are famed for taming armored giants. Each Dawg is matched with a rhino calf from birth, their connection growing deep.

It is only during the fiercest storms, when thunder cracks like the toppling of great trees, that Dawg and rhino learn to master their fear. Their first terrified cries become a shared roar, a bond - no longer terrified together the roar becomes their battle cry as they charge together across the plains.

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The baby rhino was a design shared by Tobi Twist from his Jojo Cuties collection.  I wanted to play with a couple different face ideas though because it felt more .. "oh I see" instead of "oh!  i see!".

(view other rhinos or jojos)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Tobi Twist:

June 27 - Rhino

"Stopping rhino poaching doesn't just mean stopping poachers, it also means stopping the illegal markets for rhino horn that drive this horrible trade. Challenging these markets, as with all our work, needs a team effort."

~ Jon Taylor, Managing Director, Save the Rhino International

One rhino is killed roughly every day.

Not for food. Not for defense. For a myth.

There are fewer rhinos now than ever before.

Learn what's being done, and what still needs doing, at savetherhino.org.

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This balloon design is one of the recent member videos from the Isopresso channel, fun one!  I made him just a breath or two on the side of too chubby.
 
(view other rhinos)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

May 26 - Dome Head Rhino & Lion

“If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”

~ Steve Irwin

The rhino and lion are a couple of the other creatures taught by the Balloon Brothers for their Geo Domes tutorials.  An honest assessment would be that the form is versatile but limited by available balloons.  Grey/Mocha/Beige would really open up some greater possibilities.

One thing that I'm not a big fan of, and perhaps it's my internal-origami purist, is using glue dots.  They work great as a convenience, but create their own problems.  Something attached in a more traditional way has the ability for some fine-tuned motion around the connection point, something stuck with a glue dot has to be set up perfectly from the start or you have a slow ... risky ... repair.

I had misgivings about the angle of the ears on the purple rhino and didn't want to risk it.


(view other rhinocerous. lions)

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Other balloons by and inspired by the Balloon Brothers:

August 12 - Balloon Rhino Project

A mind at peace, a mind centered
and not focussed on harming others. is stronger than any physical force in the universe.
​
~ Wayne Dyer

Some of you saw my contribution to the Balloon Rhino Project yesterday.  I was a bit late in finding out about this project, so I wanted to get the image up as soon as possible.  I'm interrupting my montage of Bling Bling Jam presenters once again for a great cause.

The Pilanesberg National Park in Australia has been victimized in recent years by poachers.  Six years ago someone poached the first rhino from the park, "Suzie" - and now there are on average 10 killed per year.  In addition some that have simply been shot and left wounded.  There is a heart wrenching video entitled "The Day the Rhino Died" on the website that shows the effort some people put in to try and save a wounded calf whose mother had been killed.

A network of balloon artists from around the world, led (I believe) by Guido Verhoef - are trying to raise both awareness and funds to help protect the park from these poachers.  Lots of information on the program and how you can help are on the website:  http://www.theballoonrhinoproject.co.za/

Please visit to learn more, and please consider donating to Pilanesberg Wildlife Fund!

This rhino was made using inspiration from Nao Osaka.  He is amazing the way he creates such elegant forms from just regular 260 balloons and although I have copied a few things he has done from pictures, I've never tried to create something like this from scratch.

Paging Mr. Ocerous, Mr. Ryan Ocerous	Poaching is for eggs
I'm the mother flippin' Rhymenocerous My beats are fat and the birds are on my back And I'm horny (I'm horny) If you choose to proceed you will indeed concede 'Cause I hit you with my flow The Wild Rhino Stampede I'm not just wild, I'm trained, domesticated I was raised by a rapper and rhino that dated And subsequently procreated That's how it goes (link)