Balloon artist and Hall High School graduate Rob Balchunas makes art come alive with his one-of-a-kind balloon creations.
Balchunas in front of one of the designs at the Balloon Story in New York. Courtesy image.
By Kaily Martinez
Art has no rules regarding what it can be made from. Steering away from the traditional mediums, balloon art makes balloons come alive. One of West Hartford’s very own, Rob Balchunas, “Rob the Balloon Guy,” has been doing just that as he continues to create his lively, immersive, and unique balloon art.
As a child, Balchunas went to the circus every year with his parents, fueling his creative passions. He recalled a memory from when he was 4 years old that a Ringling Bros store was located in Westfarms Mall at the time.
His parents purchased him a book and video on how to make balloon animals. “I always liked drawing and painting, and working with balloons was another creative outlet for me,” Balchunas said.
Balchunas next to a balloon figure holding a hammer and wearing an Ace Hardware apron. Courtesy image.
After graduating from Hall High School, Balchunas attended Emerson College in Boston to study writing and editing for film and TV. During his time there, his friend and mentor, Royal Sorell, taught him about being a professional entertainer.
Learning to be a professional entertainer benefited Balchunas since he spent his last semester of college in Los Angeles and moved there after graduating.
While Balchunas knew that he would be twisting balloons part-time so he could apply for film and TV auditions, he realized that everyone in Los Angeles would be applying for the same roles he was. Instead of twisting balloons part-time, Balchunas dedicated his efforts to being a full-time balloon artist.
As time passed, balloon manufacturers started making more balloon shapes and colors, making it harder to track what Balchunas had. To solve this, Balchunas created the Bagchunas to help keep everything tidy and to solve the “organizational issues” that most bags used by balloon artists had then. Eventually, other artists saw it, and now Balchunas sells the Bagchunas to other professional balloon artists.
The 12-foot-long saxophone Balchunas built himself. Courtesy image.
Recently, Balchunas and his friends participated in the first 10-day build of the Balloon Story in New York, a limited pop-up immersive art experience with over 600,000 balloons.
During those 10 days, they were swamped crafting the various elements of the initial build, but Balchunas didn’t mind. “It’s fun working with people you only get to see once a year or so at conventions.” Other than his friends, seeing his nephews run around and experience the joy of the Balloon Story was magical to Balchunas.
While Balchunas did participate in the initial build, he said he also created a 12-foot tall saxophone by himself. But, most of the larger projects involve many people.
“This build was one of the largest in the world and a massive undertaking. The scale of the experience blows guests away. Once the initial build was finished, I visited West Hartford to see family and work but was asked to return for a couple of weeks to create new elements for the exhibit,” Balchunas said. “In the process of adding new pieces, I was able to see the public’s reaction and talk to them about their impressions of the whole thing. The scale and detail really impresses people.”
Balchunas and his friend created a Disney cruise ship for a vendor at the D23 event. Courtesy image.
In addition to his work at the Balloon Story, Balchunas attended D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. He and his friend created a 20-foot-long Disney cruise ship for one of the vendor booths.
Afterward, they entertained the crowds and created a balloon platypus for the creators of Phineas and Ferb to use to announce their new season.
“Just when I think momentum slows, something will happen, like a guy from Indiana dressing up as me for Halloween last year,” Balchunas said.
Balchunas in front of a balloon DeLorean time machine from “Back to the Future.” Courtesy image.
Like anything else in life, complications arise as time goes on. During his time on The Unpoppables, a TLC show, the space they were given was a former glass processing factory. As they started one of their builds, balloons began “popping left and right.”
Balchunas said the best way to avoid these challenges is to order enough balloons and always test them since latex is a “natural product and does break down over time.” Regarding advice, Balchunas also encouraged those interested in balloon art but unsure about pursuing it to get a bag of balloons and play around with them, saying, “The stakes are very low.”
“If you know how to make a dog, you can make a lot of people happy,” Balchunas said.
While Balchunas does live on the West Coast, he still spends a couple of months in West Hartford twisting balloons for the Holiday Lights at Lake Compounce and can be found in front of BK&Co. for the West Hartford Holiday Stroll.
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