From: Skistz@aol.com
Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2000 07:46:28 EST
Subject: Re: Beer mugs and bottles
To: r_kleitz@yahoo.com, balloondeco@balloonhq.com

There are several ways to attain a cylindrical shape but the easiest way we 
create forms with structure is quite simple.  You do not need any SDS 
products or any sublicensed products, particularly the off brand that you 
mentioned.
Simply go to your local hardware store and buy a roll of wire fencing, NOT 
CHICKEN WIRE! You might even have some in your garden!  The most common is an 
11 gauge wire welded in a 2 in. by 4 in. grid pattern in rolls 3, 4 and 5 ft. 
wide. This gauge is strong enough to hold its own shape and the grid 
increments are helpful when packing rows of balloons.  (The fence we show in 
Bruce Waldens "Balloons on Parade" video is 14 gauge and easier to bend and 
use for sculpture.) 
Figure out the diameter of the sculpture, (lets say 3 feet?), back off double 
the height of the balloons, not the width, ( lets say 4 inches x 2 = 8 
inches, and that leaves a diameter of 2 feet 4 inches.  Cut two or three 
disks of foam core, cardboard , or what have you, to this diameter and wrap 
the fence around them to create the cylinder.  (Length of fence material 
would be 2 feet 4 inches x 3.14.) Go with the natural curve of the wire roll 
and tape the fence to the disks using the grid as a guide. 
Tie on your balloons on in duplets.
This takes longer to explain than to do!
Best wishes to you and your family.
Jim Skistimas
Balloon House Design Studio