Larry

Larry Moss, a multifaceted artist and community leader renowned for his innovative problem-solving abilities, cultivates a supportive environment where individuals can unearth their talents and passions. From his early days as a street performer in New York City, Larry’s journey evolved through academic pursuits in Applied Math and Teaching, culminating in over three decades of educational excellence. As the Founder and Creative Director of Airigami, he gained international acclaim for his balloon installations and productions, all while championing local arts initiatives through Teaching Artists ROC, a nonprofit he established to enrich communities and nurture teaching artistry. Larry’s enduring dedication to arts education, combined with his boundless creativity, continues to inspire individuals to unlock their artistic potential and foster meaningful change.

TSA

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Airport metal detector with TSA

I travel quite a bit, or at least I did before COVID shut things down. I have TSA PreCheck to get through airport security just a little faster. A bunch of years ago, I’d been on a mini tour of sorts, with stops in several cities over a couple of weeks before heading home. Nothing … Read more

The Gig Before the Glory

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By 2009, I had already done a number of large-scale projects around the world. But between the exotic adventures, I still did regular work closer to home, including elementary school assemblies, or the occasional library or museum show. One of those “filler gigs” was scheduled at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. … Read more

Downfall of BalloonHQ.com

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Back in the early days of the World Wide Web, before “social media” was even a phrase anyone used, I built BalloonHQ.com. I was both the developer and the community leader of a vibrant, global balloon artist community. There were no Facebooks or Instagrams yet, just email lists, forums, and a treasure trove of over … Read more

Flying An Octopus

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I have always been fascinated with flight. As a kid, I did all the usual things. I built paper airplanes, flew kites, and launched model rockets. Somewhere along the way, I also started designing my own paper planes, then balsa wood gliders. What I didn’t expect was that it would lead me to build a 25-foot-tall piloted octopus out of latex balloons.

How Big is Big?

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Largest non-round balloon sculpture in the world.

After Japan, everything changed. (See On Air: My First Trip to Japan (and the First Giant Balloon Sculpture I Ever Built) for more on that.) The Nebuta sculpture in December of 1998 had pushed balloon art into new territory—and people noticed. Not just friends, fellow balloon twisters, and balloon distributors. I already had their attention … Read more

Alien Discovery

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We have long searched the skies, not out of boredom, but hunger. Not for food. The food problem is solved. Or should be. We certainly have the means to feed everyone on the planet. It’s distribution, and well, really politics that get in the way of that. No, not food. What we are hungry for … Read more

On Air: My First Trip to Japan (and the First Giant Balloon Sculpture I Ever Built)

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Nebula balloon sculpture by Larry Moss, Tokyo 1998

I didn’t sleep much the week I arrived in Tokyo in December 1998. Not from jet lag, though that certainly didn’t help. No, I was buzzing with nerves and anticipation, preparing to lead the most ambitious balloon project of my life. It was my first trip to Japan, and it was for a New Year’s … Read more