December 1 - Snail

"Listen - strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

~  Dennis (Michael Palin) Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

When you adopt a pet, those first days matter - you spend real time helping it feel safe and part of a new loving family.

With that spirit in mind, let me introduce the latest balloon concept to the blog - "The Holy Snail" by Patrick Van De Ven.  (He turned me into a newt!)

The snail is an appropriate first design as I'm arriving embarrassingly late to the party, I think the original designs were released over a year ago.  (I got better...)

Time to get to work making this lil' guy feel at home!

(view other snails)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Patrick Van De Ven:

February 26 - Gergo's Jelek

"Be like the snail: persevere, carry your home with you, and leave a trail of awesomeness."

~ Neil Gaiman

A Jelek is not a "snail" - it's Hungarian, roughly translating to 'your mark'.  Every schoolchild in Hungary is assigned one, a simple but personal symbol to help them identify belongings.  Gergő Csatai's jel (singular form) was a snail.

Gergő was another instructor at Twist & Shout this year, and one of the things I love about international instructors is how their cultural influences shape their work.  As much as social media makes the world feel smaller, there's still something deeply personal about the way an artist’s background shapes their creativity.

And like a snail carrying its home on its back, Gergő brings a piece of his home with him, sharing his distinct style.

Gergo ... Gergy ... Gargy ... Gary.   It makes sense.  *runs away*

(view other snails)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Gergő Csatai:

February 11 - Iso Snail

"Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something."

~ Jake the Dog Adventure Time

I'm glad that shows like Adventure Time don’t just embrace being weird. They charge full speed into it, waving a mighty sword and screaming "Taste my Justice!"  (And if you just pictured Finn doing that in your head -- Respect!)

I don't know how I missed this, but this snail was a hidden cameo in every single episode.  Most of the time he's just hanging out in the crowd waving, but in a few episodes, he plays a key role in the story.   He [redacted] to help [redacted] and then [redacted]!  Shmowzow!

This was built using a snail/shell design taught by Isopresso on his YouTube channel and the last of my mocha 260Qs ... farewell old friend!  

(view other Adventure Time or snails)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

February 6 - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

"My name is Marcel, and I'm partially a shell, as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes and a face, so I like that about myself."

~ Marcel Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

This movie was so good.

I had no idea what to expect, but Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is one of those films that sneaks up on you. Funny, simple, and then BAM- you’re tearing up over a lost shell and hoping he gets a chance to meet Leslie Stahl?  It finds beauty in the small things, literally, with Marcel as a tiny beacon of wisdom and innocence, wandering the world, searching for family.

Purple Pig has aged hard, most cameos these days are either old photos or manufactured from them. But if I'm to take one last picture, I think Marcel would have just the right kind words of encouragement.

The shell design uses a modified hermit crab/snail from Isopresso's YouTube channel.

(view other snail or crab)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

March 8 - Vampire Snail

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

~ Albert Einstein

For years vampire snails flourished in the heartland of Romania, but in 1982 at the start of Transylvanian Salt Mine Wars - they were forced to flee their homes.  Many neighboring countries initially reached out to help, but there was public outcry that vampire snails were unwelcome, and that harboring these refugees would bring harm to the established status quo.  "No slug is going to come in to my house and drink my blood!" 

The reality was these snails were completely harmless, only named vampire because of their comical teeth, and people made the dangerous association that because one vampire was evil, that all must be.  So much more harmful were the local residents as they began to violently protest - creating great and powerful memes to influence the minds of simpletons.  The violence and propoganda were relentless and the snail refugees were forced "for their own safety" to live in terrible relocation facilities.  Families were separated, Xenophobia and misinformation ruled the day.  It was a dark time for us all.

We're much better now.

May 21 - Geo Snail

Good travels at a snail's pace. Those who want to do good are not selfish, they are not in a hurry, they know that to impregnate people with good requires a long time.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Before Juan Gonzales was making videos, he made a couple PDFs that explored a bunch of different ways you might use a geo (link).  This snail is a bonus image included in his "Extra Geos II".  A geo makes a perfect snail shell, I tried adding something to the center section to give a rounder look, but I don't really like it as well as the unusual look of the plain.

I opened up the other bags of 7-year-old stock geos, the white seem perfectly normal, but the emerald green are off.  They seem .. thin(?) and smell terrible by comparison.  A number of them popped in my face while inflating and they don't seem to take the punishment of a distortion or sidewall bubble as well.

That said, I think it's actually pretty good practice to use them.  They force you to be much more careful and decisive.  Though it's a bit like eating mustard on your french fries -- it makes you really appreciate ketchup.

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Other posts specifying geos:

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November 12 - Picos Too

From Wikipedia:
Pico- (symbol p) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting one trillionth, a factor of 10−12 (0.000000000001).

.. this is three units smaller than a millimeter. It goes milli, micro, nano, pico ..

I took a voyage further into the Pico-verse, exploring a few more of Matt Falloon's mini creations.

While I was waiting to pick my oldest son up from swim practice, I picked some random balloons from my miscellaneous jumble of balloons and decided to make a fly.  This was before I realize there is a fly on the DVD.  I might not make it for the blog, but I really like how he leaves the nozzle on for a disgusting sucker-like mouth on his.

I really enjoy the two eyestalk creatures in this batch.  The snail is especially out of the box thinking, and full of Matt's complexities, frumples and raisins and deep tulips.

Mini crabs - something you never want to see	Itty bitty, too small for the kitty - mouse
I found this fly by the seat of your pants...

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Other posts with Matt's designs:


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January 19 - Snails

Another design using Eric's latest head from Steve's Webinar (link).

I am really enjoying how pose-able the head connection point is!  Also, I'm going to start using this pupil style everywhere, nice to be able to keep it so round.

Snail Race:  Gentlemen, start your inch-ins!

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Other posts with Eric's designs:




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