By Lindsay Robinson | Echo
To Brian Getz, balloons are more than multi-colored plastic bubbles with strings. They are an expression of creativity and a way of bringing people together all over the world.
Getz is a balloon artist. He started his business, Brian's Balloons, while attending Taylor. Since then he has traveled to 15 different countries with his trade. He works with churches and nonprofit organizations, using his balloon sculptures as a ministry tool. While his job has taken him many places, his journey first began as a freshman with a unicycle.
"I learned how to ride a unicycle, which is actually a wonderful way to get around campus. You are slow enough you don't run anybody over but fast enough that you can pass them," Getz explained.
After learning how to unicycle, he began juggling, "because that's what guys on unicycles do," Getz explained with a laugh.
Hearing that Getz learned how to ride a unicycle and juggle, his sister suggested he try making balloon animals. Deciding to adhere to his sister's advice, he began to learn balloon modeling.
Within one year, he was working at Ivanhoe's and other restaurants around Muncie and Marion, Ind., making balloon creations and entertaining guests.
Getz mainly used his business to earn extra money during his three years in college. He graduated Taylor in 2006 with a major in Christian education and began working at Taylor for a year. Looking to expand his job options, he pursued a masters in philanthropic studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). During this time, Getz's passion for balloon modeling grew from just a side job to a possible long-term occupation.
He began questioning what he really wanted in a career. "I thought, 'Would I be somebody with a PHD going out and making balloons every weekend?' And I said yes I would because it is a fun job," Getz said.
He decided not to pursue a master's degree and instead remain focused on building his balloon modeling business.
Over the past 10 years, his business has grown and his passion for balloon modeling enables him to travel around the world.
He enjoys interacting with the people he meets while traveling. He explained how balloons create a common language through which he can teach and connect with people around the world. "It breaks down a lot of barriers when you pull out the balloons," Getz said.
Balloons not only provide an excellent means of communication, they also allow him to financially afford traveling. "I'll stand on a pedestrian street in Dublin or Belfast and just kind of make balloons for people for tips and use that to pay for my next meal," Getz explained.
"His outlook on life was really unique," junior Dani Goecke , who interviewed Getz for the alumni project, said.
"I saw such a love and life for people in him. As Christians we are called to love but he just does it so genuinely and so easily that it takes you aback sometimes," Goecke adds.
A concept learned in Taylor courses, the Frankena Model, has been a driving guidance behind Getz's balloon ministry.
"It (the Frankena Model) is a way of evaluating the world around you . . . at a higher level," Getz explained, "Rather than just saying, 'Okay our Sunday school needs a lesson,' it makes you think, 'Why do we need a lesson and what lesson is the best for it? What is God's plan in the world that leads us to needing a lesson?'"
Getz incorporates his passion for balloons in his work and ministry.
"I work with churches, I do lessons using the balloons, (and) I train other balloon artists in how to use balloons as a ministry tool," Getz said.
He works closely with the Fellowship of Christian Magicians, where he teaches other balloon artists how to better combine balloon artistry and ministry.
Getz encourages students and graduates to follow their passions and gifts when beginning a career. "It takes work. It takes time," Getz advised. "Grow yourself into it."
Getz cites Christian education professor Phil Collins: "Whose you are, is greater than who you are, is greater than what you do, is greater than where you are."
Whether it is making a 100-foot-long rollercoaster, a full sized biplane or teaching children in different countries about the Bible through balloons, Getz is passionate about his creativity, his faith and, of course, balloons.
For more information about Brian Getz and the work he does with balloons and ministry, check out his website.
