January 21 - America's Shame

"Those that can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

 ~ Voltaire 

This is America's shame....

We are in day 31, the longest running American governmental shutdown in history, and even though there have been previous presidential shutdowns to fulfill campaign promises, there has never been a shutdown in order to break one.  Mexico is not paying for a wall, a trade deal *that is not even ratified* does not pay for the wall, a GoFundMe page will not pay for the wall.

For two years the GOP controlled the House and Senate and could have railroaded almost any legislation through (like tax-cuts for the wealthiest individuals).  But now over 800,000 governmental employee paychecks are being held hostage by a bully tactics and one of the most out-of-touch presidents the world has seen in years.

Trump will pay for the wall.  #trumpshutdown

McConnell will pay for the wall.  #wheresmitch

The GOP will pay for the wall. #2020election

This balloon is based on the one in Parliament Square on London last year in a multi-day protest when Donald Trump visited, flown in "protest of him, his visit, his racial views, his history of alleged sexual misconduct, and his policies". (Source wiki)

January 16 - Pumpkin Spice Virus

And would, if you could, turn that mighty clock back,
To that long, fateful night. Now, think carefully, Jack.
Would you do the whole thing all over again,
Knowing what you know now, knowing what you knew then?"

And he smiled, like the old pumpkin king that I knew,
Then turned and asked softly of me, "Wouldn't you?"

~ Danny Elfman ~ Closing
  (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Researchers have now discovered that pumpkin spice is indeed an annual virus that afflicts society.  A hyper-intelligent mutagen that has been systematically ravaging our world in a yearly assault, turning us into orange incubators for the next seasonal wave.  Year after year the virus has spread as you can surely tell by the quantity of pumpkin spice creations available; oreos, cereals, candies, ice cream, beer, english muffins, etc.  It's an epidemic and the world is no longer safe.  Our Commander in Chief has been identified as patient zero.  Resist!  #notmypumpkinspice

That was the original idea for this blog post, however, this will be a little different than others in that I'm going to add my personal review for one of the newer Betallatex colors, Pumpkin Spice.

I get a bit excited when a new balloon color releases.  As balloon artists, our palette is somewhat limited in shape and colors - frequently we have to cheat around the limitations of our media.  I am a fan of Betallatex, typically they have proven to be more consistent and vibrant colors than many of their Qualatex counterpoints, they are my go-to when given similar colors.

I bought a bag and played around with making a few creations, and was quick to form my reaction.  These balloons are quite fragile, not thin - but similar to the old Betallic Pearl or Metallic balloons.  I had to work with them very soft and try to minimize the unavoidable friction because they were quite susceptible to forming a leak at a twist point.  My floor is littered with more failed attempts than balloons used in these final forms.

There is a sound that I'm sure haunts many balloon artists, and that's the faint little 'tic' that lets you know something is deflating ... that was my night.

You can gauge color difference to orange in the close-up of the eyeball from the spice-virus.  The ring around the eye is an orange 160B.  The pumpkin spice color is a ruddy orange, and it wasn't long into this exercise that I started thinking that this was more of a novelty color designed to capitalize on the name "pumpkin spice" more than an actual attempt to create a new color.  I wanted to like them, but in any event, the latex formula is off.  I know where to store the remaining of these...

January 13 - Prometheus

PROMETHEUS: Oh, it is easy for the one who stands outside the prison-wall of pain to exhort and teach the one who suffers

~ Aeschylus Prometheus Bound

Prometheus (Forethought) is one of the immortal Titans in Greek mythology, and brother to Epimethius (Afterthought).  He is credited with giving fire to mankind, and in doing so - defying the gods.  Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, had him chained to a rock and sent an eagle to feed upon his ever regenerating liver.

It strikes me that Prometheus must have had the forethought to know he would be punished for this transgression, and accepted it for the greater good of mankind.  It's with fire that man was able to cook meat and survive in harsher environments, free then from the shackles and oftentimes fickle will of the gods - enabling progress and civilization to flourish.

This story seems somewhat about parental control.  At some point a child will become an adult, with his or her own free will, no longer a subject to yours.  Don't cast them out, instead admire and encourage their newfound independence.  You made them strong enough to be able to do just that.

Originally I was going to have a bit of liver cut out of the belly in the balloon, but it looked awkward and out of place.  Most of the images of Prometheus are either naked or have a billowing bit of cloth that conveniently flows precisely over the male bits, I decided to give him a loincloth - but now I can't unsee Tarzan.  Especially because of the way I tried to make the wet/bedraggled hair.  Ah well, next time maybe I'll use a little forethought.  :) :) :)

December 30 - Alp Hund

“Every time I go to sleep, I know I may never wake up. How could anyone expect to? You drop your tiny, helpless mind into a bottomless well, crossing your fingers and hoping when you pull it out on its flimsy fishing wire it hasn't been gnawed to bones by nameless beasts below.”

~ Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

An Alp is a creature from Germanic folklore who resembles an elf.  It comes to you in the night and twists your dreams into nightmares.  In fact the German word for nightmare is Alptraum, the German word for dream is Traum...

The next creature in the balloon bestiary is an Alp Hund, these blind creatures use a psycho-cognitive ability to hunt and feast upon night terrors.  Oftentimes they will follow an Alp on his nightly haunt anticipating a delicious and malevolent repast.  It's tail is tipped with a vicious stinger that can paralyze a sleeper inside of the dream.  If you have ever have a nightmare wherein your legs refuse to move and you feel trapped, keep your eyes shut tight - keep to the safety of the monsters in your imaginations.

December 28 - Dagon

I cannot think of the deep sea without shuddering at the nameless things that may at this very moment be crawling and floundering on its slimy bed, worshipping their ancient stone idols and carving their own detestable likenesses on submarine obelisks of water-soaked granite. I dream of a day when they may rise above the billows to drag down in their reeking talons the remnants of puny, war-exhausted mankind -- of a day when the land shall sink, and the dark ocean floor shall ascend amidst universal pandemonium.

~ H.P. Lovecraft Dagon

Dagon is one of the earlier works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and details the account of a man who escaped capture at sea only to later be washed up on an unnatural shore, seemingly thrust from the bottom of the sea by a volcanic expansion. Upon exploring this wasteland, he comes across a monolith with pictorial carvings and hieroglyphics the likes of which he had never seen, with aquatic symbols and ominous marine humanoids with bulbous eyes.

He flees in horror when he catches sight of one of these grotesque creatures, but is endlessly pursued even after returning to San Francisco. The creature haunts both his waking moments and dreams, and the narrator believes that only morphine or death will will give him any respite. There is a sloshing sound from the hallway and the story ends rather abrup...

This balloon design is based on one of Buster Balloon's head designs I used last year that I referred to as Surly Dudes.

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Other Lovecraftian balloon designs:

December 27 - The Candy Cane Man

On the day after Christmas, in the dead of the night,
Make sure you're asleep, and your kids are tucked tight.
For tonight is the night of the midnight explorer,
Who goes house to house, a peppermint horror.
He's searching for those who have taken his young,
Wrapped them in plastic and decoratively hung.
Heed this warning, though it's no guarantee -
But make sure you've eaten the canes off the tree.
Throw them away, or do what you can,
To avoid the wrath of the Candy Cane Man.

This balloon was inspired by Alex Pardee, who posted another of his amazing monstrosities with an after-Christmas poem about "Fun Henry".  It's so good, you should go read it now: link.

It got me thinking of the nozzle-monster I made last year around this time, and I thought to recreate him with balloons and candy cane fingers.

I tried a few ways to get some snarly teeth, but eventually scrapped the idea because it kept creating too much separation between balloons.  Perhaps if I had drastically under-inflated the middle section ...

December 26 - Dark Young Seedling

“Something black in the road, something that wasn’t a tree. Something big and black and ropy, just squatting there, waiting, with ropy arms squirming and reaching . . . It came crawling up the hillside . . . and it was the black thing of my dreams—that black, ropy, slime jelly tree-thing out of the woods. It crawled up and it flowed up on its hoofs and mouths and snaky arms.”

~ Robert Bloch Notebook Found in a Deserted House

Lovecraft's Shub-Niggurath is one of the Outer Gods in the pantheon, said to be the progenitor of the "thousand young" or "dark young".

When spawned, they are suckled by their mother, where they latch on with their powerful limbs, each tipped with a single sharp tooth.  Their gaping maw consumes not only the milk, but the flesh of their mother until cast aside to roam the cosmos.

Fully formed Dark Young stand over twelve feet tall and are roughly tree shaped with a mass of tentacles and gaping maws dripping with green goo.  They are often called upon to reside over cult ceremonies and act as proxies to Shub-Niggurath by accepting the sacrifices.

Adorable!