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| Girl and Wedding Cake by Satomi Kinashita |
At the Opening Ceremonies of Twist and Shout 2008, I asked that all people who had attended TJAM '99 raise their hands. Those of us who had been in Austin, Texas in 1999 were shocked. Only about 10 people in the room had been there. Even counting other people we knew might be off doing instructor things and arriving later, the total must not have been more than 25 people. Where were all those '99 attendees now? Where did all these new people come from? It felt like 'everybody' was there in the audience on Wednesday, but clearly the definition of 'everybody' is a very fluid thing.
At TJAM 99, the registration requirements demanded that every attendee be able to make a 1-balloon poodle and a 1-balloon bear. This rule was set by Tom Myers to distinguish artists who were "advancing" in their art from those who weren't too serious about twisting. People who were there remember the first night fondly, where everyone hung out by the pool, got to know each other, and attempted to master a 1-balloon armadillo. Walking in to the competition room in 1999 was a stunning experience. In order to be able to vote, a registrant had compete. I remember the look on people's faces. Never before had some much creativity with balloons been displayed in one place. It was impossible to find a place on the tables to place your sculpture entry, and impossible to photograph each piece individually.
For the Final Night Banquet of 2008, BHQ swapped the usual pre-dinner slide show of photos from the current years' event for photos from TJAM 1999. It was glaringly clear just how far the balloon industry has come since then, and just how much we all have taken the changes for granted. Every time there is a twister or decorator convention, something new and amazing comes to light. Sometimes, many new things emerge. Some are tweaks to standard techniques and some are profound concepts. A conservative estimate would count about 30 of those leaps (3 a year?) since 1999... how many have their actually been?
Taking the opportunity to look back at where we've come from was inspiring. Never again do I want to hear how the balloon industry is stagnating and how no new ideas are being put forward. Last week when those few hands went up, I mentioned that I had meant to challenge anyone competing in 2008 to do so with a modern-day iteration of their competition sculpture from 1999. When I said it that night, I got a laugh. But let's think about it seriously. What would it take to adapt a sculpture that won in the early years (a dragon, a clown car, king neptune, etc.) to a current winning piece? New twisting techniques? Addition of special effects like lighting or moving parts? Quality of twisting? Expansion from a simple figure to a whole scene (a diorama)? Application of a unique style to the point of stylistic branding? Pondering these questions also helps to illustrate just how far our community has progressed.
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| Each flower is a wrist wrap that can be given by the birthday child to their guests. |
Janie Driscoll, otherwise known as 'Zany Janie' has created a colorful artist portfolio that is full of the artists' over-the-top sense of fun. Her party sculptures are aimed at making everyone feel warmly included while making the person(s) being honored stand out at the same time. The URL for Janie's business web site, AlwaysClowning.com is a memorable expression of her professional attitude.
Visit the portfolio of Janie Driscoll.
