1, What road led you into balloon modelling?
1) Love. I wanted to spend more time with my boyfriend (Royal) and since he spent most weekends performing as a Mime and Magician, I started to join him. Tagging along on gigs and doing simple clowning and face painting.
2, when did you get started with balloons?
2) We started twisting in 1986 when our friend Spunky T Clown (Alan Belanger) suggested its a great thing for clowns to do and the kids loved it. Our local clown alley had Aaron Hsu Flanders com in to teach the first class and Royal and I both started that same night.
3, What’s your best twisting experience?
3) My best twisting experience is hard to say. There have been so many fun people and great events over the past 20+ years. I guess I would have to say the World Record Project at the first Millennium Jam in Belgium. There were so many cool creative people from both sides of the pond. We were all working incredibly long hours, playing music while twisting, coming up with new solutions to how to put these Soccer Players together. And the finished piece was AWESOME. Even though I have participated in many other large projects since, that first one was the best.
4, What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you during a ballooning/entertaining session?
4) My worst twisting experience is hard to say. There have been so many nasty people and crappy events over the past 20+ years. My worst performances are usually when I do something stupid. Like the time I showed up at a gig wearing two different shoes. I was rushing out the door and just slipped on two black shoes and ran out the door. It wasn’t until I got to the site that I realized my mistake. Luckily for me, the event was in a mall and I quickly bought a pair of (matching) shoes. I try not ot dwell on those negative shows I’ve had or the kids who may not have liked my creations, it would only make me quit ballooning much sooner.
5, What do you most enjoy about twisting & why?
5) I most love line twisting. I am not a performer, I am a twister - a balloon factory, if you will. I know many Balloon Artists who assert that being a balloon factory isn’t the right way to do balloons, but its what I like. I enjoy whipping out balloons quickly, making sure as many kids get balloons as possible, it make the time go by quickly. In addition, I really don’t want to think hard at a gig, if 20 kids want that tiger they saw, I say give the customer what they want!
