May 19 - Anna's Hummingbird

"To name a thing is to bring it into being."

~ Terry Tempest Williams

"Anna's Hummingbird" isn't exactly the most scientific of names.  I looked.

Apparently it was named in 1829 after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli, whose husband had one of the most extensive private bird collections in Europe at the time.

Reasons aside, this is certainly a brilliant way to get your entire operation funded.

--

This hummingbird is one of the few species that stick around all year on the Pacific coast.  It uses the Isopresso hummingbird design base from the members section.

(view other birds)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

May 18 - Penguin

"Color is everything, black and white is more."

~ Dominic Rouse

Penguins hit that sweet spot of being immediately iconic and .. creatively flexible?  Stubby or sleek, tall or round, royal crest or bald dome - you see that black and white waddle body and you just know.

There are a number of animals that share this I suppose  (monkeys/crabs/frogs/birds/fish come to mind) - with just enough consistency to feel familiar, just enough wiggle room to get weird.

I can't promise this is the last penguin I will build...

--
This design is another Isopresso build.  It has some interesting choices in the build, I really love the ... intentionality? .. of using a fat belly balloon.

(view other penguin)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

May 17 - Babe the Blue Ox

"Myths are public dreams."

~ Joseph Campbell

After a winter so cold it froze words in midair, Paul Bunyan found a calf wandering through the snow, its coat turned blue by the frost.

Babe never left his side after that.

Together, they flattened forests, carved out lakes, and dragged mountains into place.

Some say if you hear a rumble on a winter morning, it’s just Babe, still wandering through the cold.

---

This design uses Isopresso's bull form, modified ever so slightly to try and match a different image that was shared.  My intention was simply to build something "not-brown" because my browns are still a mess trying to figure themselves out.

(view other bull)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

May 16 - Leaf-rolling Weevil

"Each leaf a blessing, a unique soul, laid to rest in Autumn's home."

~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

The leaf-rolling can take hours depending on the species of leaf, but it's crafting a precise burrito bed for its tiny egg.   

A female might do this a few times a day, conditions permitting - like stashing a little caches of 'baby' everywhere she goes.

The roll doesn't just protect the egg before it hatches, each larva wakes up to it's own edible blanket and can pupate within the safety of the microclimate.  

This design is from the Isopresso insect collection.  I'm feeling a bit proud of how well the legs matched, this stood with ease when taking photos.  When it comes to legs, I think it's okay to have them be slightly different sizes on one side, but the opposing legs should form a matching pair.

(view other insects)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

May 15 - Alien Bros

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

~ Upton Sinclair

First contact was disastrous.  The humans panicked, the aliens panicked harder, and half of a strip mall in South Dakota melted.

Second contact?  Much smoother.  No ships.  No threats.  They had adapted.   They came looking... familiar. 

Scientists spoke up.  Internet forums roared to life.  Talk shows turned it into content.  Fluoride was blamed, then wind turbines, then lizard people.  Finally, it was declared a hoax perpetrated by the previous administration.

Blissful and arrogant ignorance, a lethal combo. 

---

This alien design was taught by Joe Mock at a recent Bling Bling Jam webinar.   I kept seeing the legs as a lower jaw so tried building it in flesh tones - a bit of an ogre-ish look.

(view other aliens)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by the Balloon Brothers or Joe Mock:

May 14 - Axolotl

"We won't protect what we don't love, and we can't love what we don't know."

~ Richard Louv

Axolotls reside at a strange point between being critically endangered, yet thriving perfectly well in captivity.   

This over-representation weirdly hurts conservation momentum. The public assumes they're safe because they're visible, but their wild population is near extinction.  I remember my own incredulity seeing one at a local fish store hmmity hmm years ago, thinking the owner was part of some international exotic animal rescue or something.  ".. and you can sell these things?!"

The larger of these is an Isopresso design I had just finished when Joe Mock dropped into a recent Bling Bling Jam webinar to show a quicker-built/linework version.  Both perfectly capture that "balding man with a colorful poof of side frizz" look axolotls have.  *cough*💮🤡*cough*

(view other posts by The Balloon Brothers or Isopresso)

May 13 - Horseshoe Crab

"We're wiping out one of the world's oldest and toughest creatures."

~ Will Harlan, Senior Scientist, Center for Biological Diversity

It's a creature that has been shuffling along Earth's shores since before there were trees.  Older than dinosaurs.   Built like a prop from a sci-fi horror movie, but once again - WE are the monsters.

Their copper based blood contains an enzyme that's hypersensitive to bacterial toxins, so it's essential for testing anything that might at some point enter the human body: vaccines, IV drugs, surgical implants, etc.

Horseshoe crabs are captured in the wild, bled via needle to the heart, and released - often back into the same harvest zones.  Around 70% to 90% survive, but because they're not technically killed, the practice is labelled "sustainable".

Draining a living fossil to test a drug you can't afford.  Capitalism is an apex predator.

(view other dinosaur)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso: