Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 17:14:43 -0700
To: balloon@balloonhq.com
From: Mike <mikekenyon@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Excellent Twisting Columns!

Greetings, Twisters!

If you haven't read them yet, I recommend this month's outstanding 
BHQ columns. Somehow, Larry Moss convinces more and more people to 
write columns for the site, and they don't hold back! They are 
putting out their best stuff - for free!

I didn't go to the Millenium Jam, but I sure felt like I was there 
after reading Todd Neufeld's report from Ground Zero, Belgium. His 
column had links to some of the outstanding balloon work, making it 
easier to copy, er, get inspiration from an international pool of 
twisted talent. He also provided a 'live' feeling, sharing his 
thoughts and expectations during the event and then telling how each 
chapter in that story turned out. Reading about his experience gave 
me a passle of new ideas and directions to consider, and I didn't 
even go!

Patrick's column answers a question I was just starting to form - 
proportion in a balloon sculpture, and the way correct proportion 
increases the realism of the work.

Linda Berman reminds us that while we know every kind of balloon 
there is, huge numbers of people (our audience) are less aware. That 
160 teddy bear may evoke yawns at your balloon jam, but regular folks 
didn't know there were such small balloons in the world.

Ralph Dewey (an author that takes up about 3 inches on my balloon 
bookshelf) answers the question of how to make a balloon dolphin. I 
loved the balloon hammer from an earlier column, and now I've got 
something I can hit (just kidding!)

Jack Porcello offers the best of his 10+ years experience with a 
brilliant idea - increasing perceived value! This is not from someone 
selling an add on, but from someone like us, hitting the bricks with 
a bag of balloons and a smile.

Then there is the Lord of Latex in person, with a great chihuahua 
(which I needed for a funny story I tell about a chihuahua) that is 
_definitely_ going on my menu board. And as always, Hans offers up a 
terrific sculpture that inspires my inner airigamist to see just how 
much I can cram onto a single balloon.

Overall, this month's columnists are outstanding, contributing to the 
art of balloons and the cultivation of more balloon artists. Am I 
getting my money's worth out of my BHQ membership? YES! It is a grand 
time to be supporting a place like BHQ that gives so much back. For 
balloon artists, there is no better organization than BHQ - and the 
columnists this month prove it!

To close - I recommend reading the columns this month. They are good 
- good like chicken soup, ice cream, cool breezes and long kisses; 
they feed the soul.

Mike, who is really hot in Maryland, but not as hot as BHQ!

-- 
"Life is art if lived properly."