| The Place to find exactly what you want to make your event FANTASTIC! |
Michael Crayton is an award winning balloon artist and balloon decorator. Michael has competed in both local
and international competitions.
Most recently, he won 1st Place Small Sculpture
Using Non-Round, Summer Balloon Camp 2006. He has studied with some of the most elite in the business.
He creations have been praised in the US and Europe. Michael has created balloon ART for major sporting
events, tourist attractions, and restaurant chains. His incredible balloons sculptures and balloon decor
designs appeal to children and adults.
Michael has strived to become the best in his field. In 2005 he collaborated with other premier balloon
artists from thru out the country to create a unique balloon technique. He has also taught several restaurant
twisters throughout the US. Join the extensive list of ecstatic customers by arranging for your event or party
now. Whether you're planning a birthday party, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Grand Opening or Corporate event, Michael
will make it unforgettable!
and international competitions.
Most recently, he won 1st Place Small Sculpture
Using Non-Round, Summer Balloon Camp 2006. He has studied with some of the most elite in the business.
He creations have been praised in the US and Europe. Michael has created balloon ART for major sporting
events, tourist attractions, and restaurant chains. His incredible balloons sculptures and balloon decor
designs appeal to children and adults.
Michael has strived to become the best in his field. In 2005 he collaborated with other premier balloon
artists from thru out the country to create a unique balloon technique. He has also taught several restaurant
twisters throughout the US. Join the extensive list of ecstatic customers by arranging for your event or party
now. Whether you're planning a birthday party, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Grand Opening or Corporate event, Michael
will make it unforgettable!
Michael Crayton
of Magical Balloons
of Magical Balloons
Balloon modelling or balloon twisting is the shaping of special modelling balloons into almost any given shape, often a balloon animal. People who create balloon animals and other twisted balloon sculptures are called Twisters, Balloon Benders and
Balloon Artists. Twisters often perform in restaurants, at birthday parties, fairs and at public and private events or functions.
Two of the primary design styles are "single blloon modelling", which restricts itself to the use of one balloon per model, and "multiple balloon modelling", which uses more than one balloon. Each style has its own set of challenges and skills, but few
twisters who have reached an intermediate or advanced skill level limit themselves to one style or another. Depending on the needs of the moment, they might easily move between the one-balloon or multiple approaches, or they might even
incorporate additional techniques such as "weaving" and "stuffing". Modelling techniques have evolved to include a range of very complex moves, and a highly specialized vocabulary has emerged to describe the techniques involved and their resulting
creations.
Some twisters inflate their balloons with their own lungs, and for many years this was a standard and necessary part of the act. However, many now use a pump of some sort, whether it is a hand pump, an electric pump plugged in or run by a battery
pack, or a compressed gas tank containing air or nitrogen. Twisters do not generally fill their creations with helium, as these designs will not usually float anyway. The balloons for twisting are too porous for helium and the designs are generally too
heavy for their size for helium to lift.
Origins of balloon modelling
The origins of balloon modelling are unknown. The 1975 book by "Jolly the Clown" Petri credits "Herman Bonnert from Pennsylvania at a magician's convention in 1939" as being the first balloontwister. Val Andrews, in Manual of Balloon Modeling,
Vol. 1, An Encyclopedic Series, credits H.J. Bonnert of Scranton, Pennsylvania as being the "daddy of them all." Jim Church III states, "Frank Zacone from Youngstown, Ohio was doing a balloon act during the 1940s and had been doing the act for some
time." Another candidate for first balloon twister is Henry Maar.
Balloon Artists. Twisters often perform in restaurants, at birthday parties, fairs and at public and private events or functions.
Two of the primary design styles are "single blloon modelling", which restricts itself to the use of one balloon per model, and "multiple balloon modelling", which uses more than one balloon. Each style has its own set of challenges and skills, but few
twisters who have reached an intermediate or advanced skill level limit themselves to one style or another. Depending on the needs of the moment, they might easily move between the one-balloon or multiple approaches, or they might even
incorporate additional techniques such as "weaving" and "stuffing". Modelling techniques have evolved to include a range of very complex moves, and a highly specialized vocabulary has emerged to describe the techniques involved and their resulting
creations.
Some twisters inflate their balloons with their own lungs, and for many years this was a standard and necessary part of the act. However, many now use a pump of some sort, whether it is a hand pump, an electric pump plugged in or run by a battery
pack, or a compressed gas tank containing air or nitrogen. Twisters do not generally fill their creations with helium, as these designs will not usually float anyway. The balloons for twisting are too porous for helium and the designs are generally too
heavy for their size for helium to lift.
Origins of balloon modelling
The origins of balloon modelling are unknown. The 1975 book by "Jolly the Clown" Petri credits "Herman Bonnert from Pennsylvania at a magician's convention in 1939" as being the first balloontwister. Val Andrews, in Manual of Balloon Modeling,
Vol. 1, An Encyclopedic Series, credits H.J. Bonnert of Scranton, Pennsylvania as being the "daddy of them all." Jim Church III states, "Frank Zacone from Youngstown, Ohio was doing a balloon act during the 1940s and had been doing the act for some
time." Another candidate for first balloon twister is Henry Maar.
