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The Inflated Story Of Noah
  • Home
  • Inflated Story Origins
    • How It All Began
    • On Eagle’s Wings
    • Monkeying Around
    • The Best Balloon Story Ever
    • He’s No Bullwinkle
    • The Elephant
    • The Woodcutter
    • See You Later Alligator
    • The Rainbows
      • Rainbow Part 1: Roy G. Biv
      • Rainbow Part 2: Armageddon
      • Rainbow Part 3: The Full Bow
  • Balloonumentaries
    • Alligator Balloonumentary- Part One
  • Map the Journey
  • Learn to Twist
    • Basic Hat & Christian Fish
    • Basic Dog
    • Balloon Giraffe
    • Balloon Turtle
    • Beagle on a Bicycle
  • Extreme Twisting
    • Balloon Skydiving
    • Giant Balloons
    • Balloons on Coasters
    • The Dragster
  • Latest Posts
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How It All Began

Home Inflated Story Origins How It All Began

How It All Began

Jul 16, 2014 | Posted by Dan | Inflated Story Origins |

As a junior in high school, I had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica on a Georgia Baptist Convention mission trip. As it turned out, the footnote to that trip has become a header in my life. One adult on the trip was Buddy Lamb, an expert clown who taught us some basics of balloon sculpture. I never got interested in clowning, but I immediately latScubaSteveched on to this twisted skill. Armed with my 260 blaster pump, a bag of Qualatex balloons, and a beginner balloon book by Christian sculptor Ralph Dewey,
I sat on my grandmother’s couch learning new sculptures. Before we left for Jamaica, I could do a larger variety of sculptures than my first teacher, and I had found a long-time hobby and ministry tool.

My early balloon sculpture days usually involved a pump and a bag of balloons at whatever camp or conference I was lucky enough to attend. The balloons were fun and helped me make new friends. At the time, I was perfectly content to create single-balloon sculptures and never thought that would change. After years of simple sculptures, I stumbled across balloon weaving and thought, “I can do this!” Weaving balloons in college was the first time I dipped my toe into advanced sculpture. Balloons never stopped being a way to connect with, encourage, and entertain people, but this new evolution inspired me to think of them as an art as well.

The inspiration for The Inflated Story of Noah actually began around the time I completed college, during my first summer working on staff with a camp called M-Fuge. It is hard to label the ideas that motivated me. For starters, I like to do unique things that stand out. I can remember seeing stories done with Legos and thinking, “Hmm… something like that would be cool with balloons”. Plus, a challenge is fun!
The earliest version of the book was done on a summer weekend at my childhood church. It was neat, but simplistic. The sculptures were small. In the end, it was nice, but I was not satisfied. That’s when I realized I’d have to go big or go home. These sculptures would need to be big and a Photoshop backdrop was not going to cut it. I needed to make balloon sculptures and photograph them in real locations. And so, The Inflated Story of Noah was born.

This project has been in progress for over a decade. Whenever I have an opportunity to travel somewhere that seems to fit the book, I take balloons and make plans to sculpt another leg of the project. After all these years of trudging toward completion at a snail’s pace, I hope to have The Inflated Story of Noah in print within the year. None of these photos are Photoshopped into their locations. Each one has its own story.

 

Scuba Steve posing with a friend.
After creating my first giant balloon sculpture, a large scale scuba diver, I carried it around my college campus to share with friends.
Carson-Newman Around the year 2000.

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About Dan

Dan is a youth minister living in Pensacola, FL. In his spare time he sculpts balloons, plays tennis, plays ultimate frisbee, works on his Doctor of Ministry, and does whatever else he can find to do. While working on graduate degrees he's become an enthusiastic Baylor Football fan. He's been dreaming up The Inflated Story of Noah for over a decade.

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