Imaginative Stylish Balloon Art

Balloon Artist,
Daisy

What do you think the white dress in the photo below is made of? It is not made of silk or satin. It is made from a rubber balloon! At a glance, it is hard to believe that it is made from balloons as it is so hip and stylish. The dresses in the photos here are all made from balloons. Yes, they are called balloon art.

The works are created by twisting long balloons by hand. Japanese balloon artist, Daisy (stage name) has won the best prizes domestically and internationally. Daisy exhibits her works at exhibitions, displays them in contests, and provides them as image characters for commercial use.

At a flower shop where she had her first job, Daisy worked at arranging flowers and balloons, and created decorative balloons for use at ceremonies and parties. But decorative balloons are simply blown up and nothing more. Daisy recalls, “To be honest, I was not interested in balloons as decorations. I wanted to do more flower arranging that required more creativity. That is why I quit the flower shop.”

What happened afterwards came as a surprise for Daisy. Her grandmother became sick and was hospitalized. Daisy figured that she would take her grandma something handmade. Daisy made something with balloons, twisting them a little bit, and took it to her grandma’s hospital room. Her grandma was very pleased and happy. “I never expected someone would feel as happy as this. I thought then that I would study more about ballooning,” Daisy says.

Balloon art requires extensive twisting of balloons to make complicated objects. In a world where not many predecessors have paved the ways for their successors, Daisy learnt and practiced ballooning by herself. Gradually, ballooning has made its way for her. In the beginning however, Daisy had no knowledge of how to turn her creations into a business. In addition, there were not many people who would give a job to a 20-something young artist. Daisy had spent many days in discouragement and frustration.

But Daisy simply kept practicing; she started submitting more of her works into contests and events. As her twisting skill increased, Daisy began winning the best and the second best prizes at big contests. Then more jobs began to come to her. She says, “It’s important to be imaginative. I keep my eye on what’s trendy and what’s in fashion all the time.”

Daisy’s works caught the eye of a creative production company utilizing photographers and hair makeup artists, and has since been taken on as an artist. As her works will be displayed in advertising – they will be used collaboratively with artists from other industries– the breadth of her works will surely become more diverse.

Daisy’s tasteful balloon works that reflect a “contemporary” style are likely to catch many people’s attention. However, balloons deflate over time; they survive only one day in which one may look at them in all their beauty. Balloon artists therefore require courageous spirits. The levels of both Daisy’s ideas and skills are high. Daisy’s works are sure to attract even more attention in the future.

Aforts
www.aforts.jp

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