My first penguin.

I was a fairly new balloon twister in September of 1996.  The Tie Dye Balloon Guy had not yet emerged.   I had already been clowning for almost two years, and I was ready to try some new skills.  I got books from the library, and got a basic balloon sculpting video to begin my quest.  I practiced for what seemed like months just to get a basic dog to come out just right.  Sometimes the front legs were bigger than the back and sometimes the dog looked more like a giraffe.  Mostly I just popped the poor pooch. POP!  Lots of pops ... and groans (from me, not the poor doggie).

Ah, but back to the penguin.  This was my first semi public display of balloon twisting.  Joy Set Entertainment was booked for a small community festival.  I took requests, which thankfully for me stayed within the usual parameters for a beginning twister.  "Can I get a sword?"  "Make me a flower."  "Why does my dog look like a giraffe?"  I turned to the youngest of the bunch, a sweet little green eyed, brown haired girl and asked what she would like.  "I want a penguin."


Oh no.  I had never even attempted a penguin.  It might (GASP) take more than one balloon.  But I couldn't dissapoint this precious little one that looked up at me expectantly.  "Okay" I said, "I will try."  I inflated a white balloon about halfway and started twisting it into a pretzel looking shape.  Then I added a black balloon.  So now my pretzel was looking burnt.  More twisting and squeezing and manipulating.  Hey, this is starting to actually look like a penguin.  Now draw on some eyes.  But wait.  I added a THIRD balloon to give it a beak and feet.  It took me almost ten minutes to make it.  I heard the other children ooohing and aahing.  It actually looked decent. 

I handed it over to the little girl waiting to hear her delight. Instead she started crying, threw the balloon bird to the ground and ran off screaming "I said I wanted a PINK ONE!"  So, I guess the moral of the story is always listen to what your customers want and need.  By the way, I have learned to make better penguins since then.