Ken Adams

I thought I should share my favourite balloon casting tool kit!

With reference to the photo above, I start from top left and in a clockwise direction:

1) A plastic balloon clip for easier tying and untying of air-filled balloons. Absolutely essential if you want to avoid seriously sore index fingers.

2) A 500g weight. I place inflated balloons in a smooth-rimmed flower vase, but before doing this I attach a weight to the base of each balloon to counterbalance the mass of the clay slip. If I don't do this, balloons end up very top-heavy and simply topple over once a certain amount of slip is applied (even if they are cradled well by the vase.)

3) A palette knife for spreading slip. This one has a kink at the base of the blade which helps me avoid scraping slip off the balloon with my knuckles as I work. A stainless steel blade is essential!

4) A silicon kitchen basting brush. Great for achieving stripy textures and very forgiving when used to apply slip to latex! Normal brushes have a tendency to pierce inflated balloons with unsurprising ease, which results in plenty of time cleaning the studio, rather than creating beautiful work.

5) A single clip hanger with a strong spring mechanism that is used to hang slip-covered balloons to dry. The stronger the clip, the better because balloons can become surprisingly heavy when covered with slip (especially the large ones!)

6) lnox surgical operating scissors (17 cm in length) with super-sharp straight blades. The longer the scissors the better to reach deep into deflated balloons within dry vessels and to cut through latex like butter!

7) Inox surgical freer septum chisel. Note the super sharp pointed hook to help extract more complex shaped balloons - to be handled with extreme respect - fishing enthusiasts will know what I mean!

8) Last but not least, Inox surgical fressing forceps with small locking 'teeth' to allow me to securely grab deflated latex in order to pull balloons out (impossible to do with normal tweeters as the late!)

Surgical instruments can be pricy, but believe me, it is worth the investment if you are serious to give balloon casting a go, especially if you wish to explore the creative possibilities offered by more complex shapes (such as geo-blossom balloons).