Every grand project starts with a crazy idea. Sometimes it’s sparked by ambition. Sometimes it’s ego. In my case, it was a conversation with my first wife, Judy, while she was in a coma. Back in 2003, Judy had just given birth to our enby when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “One of the … Read more
What happens when art made from misunderstood materials gets left out of public funding conversations? This week, I find myself in a frustratingly familiar position. A teaching artist had to cancel a performance this coming weekend due to a family emergency, and I am the logical replacement. The venue is on board with me. I’m … Read more
Professor Rem had a rule. And I broke it. A lot. Jim Reminicky, known to most as Professor Rem, was a magician, well-known in many magic circles, not so much for his performance skills, but as a scholar of magic. He read every book on magic he could get his hands on. Early in my … Read more
I didn’t set out to become a photographer. I just wanted my balloon sculptures to be photographed the right way—which, at one time, meant “the way I saw them in my head.” Back during the first Balloon Manor (a 10,000 square foot haunted house made of balloons. More on this coming soon to a blog … Read more
When I started traveling internationally in my twenties, I quickly began to notice a few things. I won’t say any of them were particularly shocking. Some were actually pretty obvious. But I suspect a few would have blown the minds of the teachers I had growing up. The ones who told me, with absolute certainty, … Read more
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
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
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.
I don’t perform much anymore. At least not in the form of theatrical shows. I still speak when those opportunities come my way. And I teach, and I suppose that’s a form of performing. Part of it is that I’m busy running Teaching Artists ROC, making sure other artists are out performing in schools and … Read more
