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" Once limited to clowns and buskers, balloon art has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Special modeling balloons and modern twisting techniques, such as the Nikoloon system, have allowed balloon artists (a.k.a. twisters) the ability to build creations that are suited for many creative arenas, from advertising to gallery exhibits. Below, browse a few artistic creations that have made a contribution to the growing art form.  Motorcycle  Emily Yeung, star of the Canadian children&amp;#039;s television series This Is Emily Yeung, is the young &amp;quot;rider&amp;quot; atop this propped-up motorcycle made of balloons. Her show follows the curious 6-year-old as she takes on new experiences and challenges. In this particular episode, dubbed &amp;quot;This Is Emily Yeung Making Animal Balloons,&amp;quot;Yueng joineda balloon artist and learned how to twist balloons into different animal shapes. Photo courtesy of Susan Stafford via SinkingShip.com. Gorilla  This branch-jumping gorilla was one of many creations shown at the 2nd annual Thailand Balloon Festival in 2007, hosted by Central World, &amp;quot;the largest lifestyle shopping destination in Bangkok.&amp;quot; Each year, balloon artists from all over the globe gather to show off their work, volunteer for workshops and have fun\u2014all to promote Thailand&amp;#039;s popping arts and lifestyle industry. Photo courtesy of CentralWorld.com. &amp;quot;Work No. 628: Half the Air in a Given Space&amp;quot;  In July 2007, this piece of art by British artist Martin Creed was featured at an exhibit called&amp;quot;Feelings&amp;quot; at Bard College&amp;#039;s Hessel Museum in the Center for Curatorial Studies. The balloon display, as the work&amp;#039;s title suggests, left half the air in the gallery altered (filled with bright blue balloons), an experience compared to &amp;quot;swimming with dolphins, or deep-sea diving, except you can breathe&amp;quot; by New York Times contributor Roberta Smith. She went on to describe the exhibit as &amp;quot;clownish, with\u2026an undercurrent of seriousness.&amp;quot; Photo courtesy of MartinCreed.com. Escaping Heart  This photograph of a figure made of balloons with its innards (and heart!) leaking out is part of photographer Paul Graves&amp;#039; 2008 Balloon Sculpture Series, which was featured in the January 2009 issue of DOMUS\u2014an Italian design and architecture magazine. Inspired by Niko Fric, the founder of the Nikoloon system (which makes complicated balloon twisting possible), Graves said he enjoys using playful material, like balloons, to relay &amp;quot;darker&amp;quot; or more serious messages. Photo courtesy of PaulGravesCreative.com. Crown of Thorns  Balloon artist Jason Hackenwerth created the above in 2006 as part of &amp;quot;Honeysuckle Labyrinth&amp;quot; exhibit for the New Museum Gala in New York City. The artwork on display consisted of insect-like forms that rotated slowly on air currents, seemingly interacting with each other. Hackenwerth chooses balloons as his medium because he feels they add an instantly recognizable characteristic to his creations\u2014which he describes as microorganisms that communicate about connectivity\u2014and believes they have the ability to offer joy to people of any age. Photo courtesy of JasonHackenwerth.com. &amp;quot;Fisherman&amp;#039;s Wife&amp;quot;  Hackenwerth also created this colorful homage, this time for the Diesel Denim Gallery in Manhattan&amp;#039;s Soho neighborhood. An interpretation of Japanese artist Hokusai&amp;#039;s famed work of art &amp;quot;The Dream of the Fisherman&amp;#039;s Wife,&amp;quot; Hackenwerth&amp;#039;s installation is aptly described by Ami Kealoha for CoolHunting.com as &amp;quot;a riot of candy-hued balloons suggestive of the sensual sea creatures in the original.&amp;quot; Photo courtesy of JasonHackenwerth.com. Mario  This replica of the popular Nintendo video game character was done by Jeremy Telford (a.k.a. The Balloon Guy), a family-friendly balloon artist who&amp;#039;s done large balloon sculptures for conventions, museums, birthday parties and a commercial\u2014among other things. This five-foot-tall Mario, which was created for a boy&amp;#039;s birthday party, is one of the 250-plus designs he has created. Though he describes balloon twisting as his true artistic passion, Telford also practices a little magic and juggles. Photo courtesy of BalloonGuyEntertainment.com. Nebuta  Balloon artist Larry Moss, who runs BalloonHQ.com\u2014an online industry resource\u2014was hired in 1998 as an instructor for a Japanese reality-television show. He taught eight celebrities from Japan how to do balloon art with the goal being to create this 50-foot orange nebuta\u2014a traditional festival float that depicts a samurai warrior fighting a demon. The challenge was filmed throughout a 36-hour period and used approximately 15,000 balloons. Photo courtesy of BalloonHG.com. Yamaha Piano and Pepsi Can  The Singapore Balloon Seminar held by the Korea-based company Ace Balloon\u2014which developed the Magic Aceballoon Design System (M.A.D.S.)\u2014exhibited both of the balloon creations above. The black-balloon Yamaha piano installation and the modern can of Pepsi were both meant to promote the concept of linear balloon design. Photo courtesy of AceBallon.com.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a974/10-brilliant-balloon-artworks-91860/>