May 23 - AzulTG-TC

You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend
You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend
You ain't never had a friend like me
You ain't never had a friend like me, hah!

~ Robin Williams Friend Like Me

AzulTG-TC is a DeviantArtist who offered to see what she could come up with using her style.

It's a super creative idea using pig in the hoodie/costume design - even including a tassel for the curly tail.  There are so many smart decisions in this image - the masterful shading, the cloven boots, the look of "quest fulfillment" at handing the balloon.

May 22 - Whale

“Queequeg explained to me that his world was very different from ours. However, one thing he learned quickly, was that within all groups of people there are kind men and there are unkind men.”

~ Herman Melville, Moby Dick

This design is one that I've admired for a while.  Mr. Sung won a color contest with a giant version of his whale, and there are instructions for the creation of that -- this is a smaller version and probably the one that most excited me to build.

The combination of the two different textures was intriguing -- and now I know the magic.

This was another, like the egg, that is simple enough to construct but exacting in the sizing to try and get the proper shape.

It seemed only too fitting to build it again in Caribbean Blue, the water spout on that one is the one taught (and my favorite).

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Other balloon designs or inspiration from Song Junlin:

May 21 - Magpie

“A bird is safe in its nest - but that is not what its wings are made for.”

― Amit Ray, World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird

This bird is another that Mr. Sung teaches in his weaving series.

Some of the weaving techniques are not new, but it's refreshing to see a different approach to what you have assumed to be the right way to do things.

This was a fun bird to build, and the perch is something that really shines - it's so sturdy and stages the scene splendidly.  (whee!  Alliteration!) (also - Sorry to anyone with a lisp who was reading that out loud...) 

The rainbow tailed bird is closer to the demonstrated technique, I took a couple liberties with the other when playing.



(view other birds)

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Other balloons inspired by fusen_zero:

May 20 - Cake

“Knowledge may be power, but cake has great bargaining properties”

~ Julia Seitz

Here is another practice lesson from Mr. Sung weaving tutorials.   It is a refreshingly different cake than those I'm used to building.

To be honest - I'm not entirely sure what particular weave this is associated with, or if it's just practice making a repeated form with reliable sizing to help in all weaving, as there are a number of layers and techniques to this design that all interlock.

My normal cake design doubles as a top hat design, this one seems much more delicious!

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Other balloon designs or inspiration from Song Junlin:

May 19 - One Love

Jah is one perfect love, until the philosophy
Which holds one race superior and another
Inferior is finally and permanently discredited and
Abandoned there will war everyday
Jah is why we are all blessed, this Iniverse was
Created for man to live in peace concord
And happiness and the word of Haile Selassie
I's a blessing yes .

~ SOJA, Non-Partial Non-Political (link)

Technically I suppose it's Four Love.

As I watch these tutorials by Mr. Sung - I'm relying on technology for translations and I am tickled that the translation for this heart is "love".  So I can comfortably say last night I made love for well over an hour.  Tantric balloon art?

Weaving can be some mindless braiding at times, but this one does require some attention paid to pattern to get a good heart shape.

One of the fun things you can do with weaving though is to break from the pattern and make your own patterns with colors, it's like solving a crossword puzzle.  I thought it would be fun to make a rainbow, to me that is the symbol of purest "IDGAF what you think" kind of love -- and while making that, I was listening to Fantan Mojah so it felt natural to build One Love.

Let's acknowledge the corridor approach to creativity.  At the beginning of this exercise, I was building a heart.  Now that I've traveled some down the corridor, possibilities are visible that were not at the start.  I think it would be super cool to to make a giant "One Love" weave within the outline of Africa.  I have it on my Todo list now -- but if someone wants to take the baton and run with it, I have a great Spotify playlist for you to listen to while doing building. 😁 


(view other hearts)

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Other balloon designs or inspiration from Chun Lin, Sung:

May 18 - Fancy Eggs

- Are they in the proper approach?
- Negative.
- Open fire!
- on Ajax?
- All weapons, now! Charge the lightning field! I take responsibility ..  in the Emperor's name.

~ Flash Gordon - that one epic scene

Recently Chun-Lin, Sung @fusen_zero taught at the Q Corner Convention a very cool weave he named Maelstrom, which was my "hey man, that's my band name".  So in that honor, I will introduce him like we are both at a record shop, and my jam just started playing and we caught eyes while I was rocking out.  I do like a "S'up?" face (fantasy me is bad-ass - go with it) "hey man, you should totally check out his earlier stuff."

Mr. Sung has a few video tutorial series on Hahow (link) where he teaches different styles of weaving and balloon art.  This egg was one of the practice pieces.  If you saw his Maelstrom - you know he is an excellent teacher who meticulously demonstrates along the way, I can also add that he enunciates clearly, it was easy for my browser to auto-translate accurately.

I want the world.
I want the whole world.
I want to lock it all up in my pocket.
It's my box of chocolate! 
 GIVE IT TO ME! NOW!

The weave itself is not overly complicated, but getting the gradual slope of the egg shape took some effort.  Definitely helpful to be given the sizing.

I first built the rainbow egg, and you might see that become somewhat of a theme with any sort of weaving.  ... bonus, it's beautiful.

I kind of thought to golden egg would be more exciting than it ended up, it's just ... gold.  Not such a funny picture unless you imagine Veruca Salt holding it, or it being the gift for Ming the Merciless that Flash Gordon grabs because "football". 

I originally thought to decorate the fabergé egg a little more but decided to keep it simple.

Chun-Lin Sung:  Facebook / Instagram

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Other balloon designs or inspiration from Mr. Sung:

May 17 - Lauryverse-Art

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”

~ Vincent Van Gogh

Lauryverse-Art is the DeviantArt account for Lauryn, an aspiring artist that offered to use her style on our champion.

I love how stylized it is, it's so distinct - and it has has me wondering how it was all put together.  It's a really interesting way to do staging, but I can't imagine how to do it without redrawing the form repeatedly.

This is both painting and brilliant usage of the tools.