WESTBROOK – Lanna Lee Maheux is a 45-year-old balloon twister with bright pink hair and a constant mission to stay creative.

Maheux, a Westbrook resident, has been twisting balloons for 23 years, first as a clown, where she was asked to create a variety of animals and designs at the request of customers. Like many of her balloon-twisting peers, she enjoys a challenge, which is why she will travel from her Westbrook home to Rochester, N.Y., this weekend to take part in a project known as “Balloon Manor,” where more than 75 balloon artists from around the globe collaborate on a five-story balloon structure.

This year, the fifth installment of “Balloon Manor,” and first since 2008, is called the “VERY Tall Tale of Jack and his Beanstalk,” and, according to a press release, will include a ground-floor garden and four-story beanstalk, which visitors can explore via escalator, and feature a castle in the clouds, complete with a giant.

According to Larry Moss, founder of Airigami, a balloon-art company and the event’s organizer, Balloon Manor will take over downtown Rochester’s Sibley Building atrium. Moss estimates that it will take their crew of 75 people four days and 50,000 balloons to create the piece.

In addition to his Balloon Manor events, Moss has also set and currently holds the world record for the largest, non-round balloon sculpture, titled “Soccer Players,” created in Belgium in 2000.

“Lanna is an incredible artist that I’ve known for many years,” Moss said Tuesday about Maheux’s involvement. “I’m excited to have her as a returning Manor crew member this year.”

Maheux, who grew up in Monson, began twisting balloons in 1990, when she was working as a clown at the former Ground Round restaurants, first in Bangor, then in South Portland, and Cambridge, Mass. Maheux said that she began by making simple balloon animals but that after attending a clown convention, decided to learn more.

“I saw people making whole sculptures, and it blew my mind,” she said. “It made me want to continue learning and creating.”

After working in restaurants for six years, Maheux said, she got a day job and put away the clown paint in favor of twisting on the side, which would be more about entertaining with balloons.

“With kids, I like to make them what they want, or have them challenge me,” she said. “With adults, I kind of like to wow them a little bit.”

At past balloon-twisting conventions, called “Twist and Shout,” Maheux has taught classes, which one year included a session on how to make adult balloons, something that resulted in one of her balloons, a dog made from condoms, being featured in Maxim Magazine.

Patty Sorell, who along with her husband Royal, operate a Massachusetts business called Balloon Designs, said Wednesday that they used to be members of a clown club with Maheux in the Boston area, and that they still keep in touch with her at the “Twist and Shout” events, which the Sorells organize.

“Back then, there weren’t any clubs for twisters, so we all kind of fell in with clowning,” she said. “But, if you like to entertain kids, it’s all the same.”

Sorell said that participating in projects like Balloon Manor is always an educational experience, and that Maheux will no doubt be involved in a great, collaborative project.

“You learn a lot more by doing than you do just practicing in your living room,” she said. “All the artists will bring in different ways of working, and will work together to figure out the best way to make it look great.”

Maheux said that Royal Sorell served as a mentor for her during her time living in the Boston area. Maheux also lived in New York City for a time, but moved back to Maine with her husband, and went back to school at the University of Southern Maine. She now works as a programmer analyst for a market research firm.

In 2007, Maheux participated in a Balloon Manor that had a haunted house theme. In previous years, the event was held around Halloween. However, this year, Moss organized the event knowing that balloon artists from around the world were already traveling to Rochester for the Sorells’ “Twist and Shout” convention.

She said that her previous experience at Balloon Manor allowed her to get creative, something she always strives for, and hopes to continue this year.

“Last time, I got to experiment and ended up making a ghost sculpture that was really fun,” she said.

She added she’d like to see something similar in Maine.

“I like the community aspect, where you have community members helping, people coming to look at it, and it elevates balloon artistry,” she said.

Maheux’s creative passions also extend past balloon twisting, as she also hosts her own podcast, called “Lounging with Lanna Lee,” where she interviews people she deems interesting, including fellow twisters.

Maheux said most of the great balloon artists focus on making realistic sculptures, but believes that most of the time, a really great balloon piece is something that ignores rules, which she feels is true in any form of art.

“I’d rather make a monster that’s not really supposed to look like anything,” she said.

“With adults, I kind of like to wow them a little bit,” says Lanna Lee Maheux of her balloon creations. The Westbrook resident is among more than 75 balloon artists from around the globe who will collaborate this weekend on a five-story balloon structure in Rochester, N.Y.