Lawrence's Balloon Man dazzles groups of all ages.
Forget everything you think you know about balloon art.
Clear your mind of primitive blow-up dachshunds and giraffes.
Wipe clean your memories of the lame schmoe who "entertained" at your third birthday party.
Now you're ready to meet Balloon Man.
Chances are if you live in Lawrence, you've seen Balloon Man (secret identity: Bill Wachspress) perform.
Since 1995, he's been a staple outside the Antique Mall downtown, Wal-Mart, local restaurants and supermarkets, as well as area fairs and festivals.
Plus Balloon Man's entertained at countless private parties, children's birthdays and company picnics between here and Kansas City.
If you've seen him, you haven't forgotten him.
Because to watch Balloon Man is to be dazzled -- whether you're 8 or 80.
This is no ordinary balloon guy.
No.
He's an artist.
He's the Miles Davis of latex, riffing on whatever requests his audience tosses out, from things as delicate as a finger-size bumblebee with silky white wings to more macho mechanical stuff, like an orange-and-black chainsaw with a silver "chain."
Or a purple-and-green iris. A tiny pink mouse. A red tulip.
You name it, Balloon Man can do it. Or at least try.
"If you do things people haven't seen before, they've never imagined before, they love it," Balloon Man said, eyes twinkling.
"I always like doing the unexpected balloons, the things nobody thinks you could ever make, like the balloon chainsaw, the balloon jackhammer, the balloon train."
As he talked, he quickly twisted a powder-blue, long skinny balloon into a one-stringed guitar.
Which he proceeded to play.
First he strummed the simple notes of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
Then he slid into Cream's "Sunshine of Your Life" and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze."
"I learned how to make the air guitar from Tupper the Clown, a fellow balloon artist I worked with in Fort Scott, Kansas," Balloon Man said.
"I love the guitar. I'd like to hook it up to an amp and perform an electric balloon guitar act," he said, twanging away.
Balloon Man is off the wall.
"Most of the things I make, I made up. I learned the basic stuff from books," he said, while twisting balloons into what would become a fat pink elephant.
"I could make 200 to 300 different things before I'd start to repeat myself."
Balloon Man doesn't blow up all those balloons by himself.
He uses a little air compressor -- it's called a Balloon Buoy -- the size of a soup can. He carries it in a sport pack slung on his hip.
The device can blow up a balloon in a few seconds, and it's quick to recharge.
"I figure that since 1995, I've blown up about 65,000 balloons," he said.
"I'm not a speed demon. I typically do maybe 30 balloons in an hour. I'm more into talking to people and encouraging kids to try to come up with a challenge for me."
The cool thing about Balloon Man's creations is that you can wear 'em (balloon hats), play 'em (like the guitar) and make weird sounds with 'em.
To demonstrate, Balloon Man blew up a couple of green balloons and twisted them into a long, thin nutcracker shape.
"This is a 'frog call,'" he said. Then he whisked the thing through the air.
It croaked like a frog.
He can also do a light saber that hums when you slash it through the air.
"That's what I think is special about the balloons I make. They're things you can play with -- they're active toys."
Balloon Man entertains for people of all ages, but he really loves performing for children. They're an especially appreciative audience, he said.
"I get kids who say, 'I want to do this, I want to be Balloon Man.' But I think that's a passing thing.
"I tell them, 'You'll still have to go to college and have a day job.'"
-- Jim Baker's phone message number is 832-7173; his e-mail address is jbaker@ljworld.com.
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