Whenever I am twisting balloons in Greenville, Anderson, or Spartanburg, South Carolina I am almost certain to be asked. Where did you learn to twist balloons? I have covered that in one of my other blogs, but I did not mention balloon videos. Ahh yes, that happy medium, where this Greenville balloon artist is happy to twist along, rewind, and go at my own pace. Or even fast forward.
Over the years I have watched NUMEROUS balloon videos. I have watched all of John Michael Holmes VHS (remember those) tapes. And I own several balloon videos that are now out of print. Actually I just counted my video collection. I have over 127 different balloon videos on both DVD and VHS. Most of my balloon videos are about twisting balloon animals, balloon planes, and other balloon creations. A few of them are all about balloon decoration or balloon decor. I even have one that teaches how to make tie-dye balloons (and the “Tie Dye Balloon Guy” likes it very much, thank you).
At the end of this blog, I will provide some links to some of my favorite balloon videos. I won’t get anything out of it if you do purchase some videos except the satisfaction of knowing I have helped out another aspiring balloon twister. But right now, I want to do a review on two recent DVD’s from one of my favorite balloon artist, Dave Bartlett. Dave (aka Mr. Rainbow) has been a professional clown and balloon twister since shortly after the world began (or maybe it just seems that way). I owned most of his VHS until I replaced them with his remixed DVDs. Dave was kind enough to combine two VHS tapes onto each DVD that he “re-released”
I had been planning to purchase Dave Bartlett’s DVD “E Unum Pluribus” for many months. When I went to Mr. Rainbow’s web site to order, I happily discovered yet another DVD that he has just recently released, “Eat, Play, Twist.” I ordered both and in just two short days, I had my newest balloon videos. “E Unum Pluribus” showcases many different character creations. He makes an Astronaut, Frankenstein, Leprechaun, Elf, Dracula, Darth Vader, Pirate Skeleton, Shrek, and a Clown. Each one is quick enough that I could make them at any of the restaurants where I twist balloons. And each one is able to be tweaked enough to be a special birthday creation for a birthday child. I particularly liked “Eat, Play, Twist”. This DVD contains mostly a variation of bird designs (including some Angry Birds) with some dinosaurs tossed into the mix just to keep things interesting. The Angry Birds were a huge hit at my twisting gigs. I even added a green pig to make it a more interactive game.
Pros: This video moves along at a nice clip. Dave carefully shows the basics of a design and then shows variations with that design. I have other videos that about half of the time is taken up with making the same body structure over and over and over again. Dave is lighthearted and conversational in his style. He shares jokes and bits of entertainment here and there. And as mentioned above the balloons shown are impressive but can still be made fairly quickly by a good balloon twister. Cons: Part of “Eat, Play, Twist” is filmed outdoors. This is not the best thing for someone with ADD to try to watch (oh look a butterfly just went by). Bottom line: Both of these new DVDs have one or two creations that more than make them worth the price of admission. Get them.
