SKY ON A STRING

Maybe kites are the prime form of artwork for the outdoors. Some can be as large as billboards offering some prime space for shouting whatever message the flyer wishes the world to know. Kite making is an art and craft available to all as almost a folk art form throughout the world's cultures. We like to think of kites as a celebrationist form of expression. The act of flight being a magical lifting of our cares. It is the play of color and form in the invisible medium of wind and air currents that delights and brings our eyes up and spreads that smile across our faces while flying. .

Kites could even be one of the highest art forms depending, of course, on how much string you might have on your spool. We've often been tempted to fly our kites above the great art museums of the world so we can say "We've shown our kites at the Louvre, the Metropolitan, the Museum of Modern Art..." But the real show place is in the sky gallery and tacked to that beautiful blue and white ceiling.

We were asked to put up a kite show at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in South Denver in the city of Englewood for the spring wind season. While the kites have been stilled in their wind dance, it is inside within the doors of the gallery that reveals an up close view of our kites.

The kites include a view of over thirty years of wind blown passion. Melanie's new photo kites are featured using printing processes onto polyester covers. A special collection of Japanese kites that were gathered from numerous trips to Japan are also included as early influences in my early kite making.

Here's a few quick views from the show...

the entry to the museum kite show

opening night was full of delights

Melanie Walker's photo kites

the Japanese kite gallery

Star Man kite by George Peters

Cloud Kite Triptych by Melanie Walker

Lady Bug kites and Sky Bird kite

Te Manu kite by George Peters

Japanese kites by Hideo Matsutani

In another very small enclosed gallery in the museum there is a show of miniature kites. Some are from the Airworks Studio collection along with others from the extensive kite collections of the Seattle based Drachen Foundation kite archive.

The "Sky on a String" kite exhibition will be at the Museum of Outdoor Arts from March 10th to July 21st, 2012. If you're in the Denver area, stop by and enjoy a wind blown colorful feast.

For a slide show of the exhibition, visit the Airworks Studio Flickr photo site here..

THREE IN THE AIR, ONE IN THE NEST

"CIRCUMSPECTRUM"

Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center, Los Angleles

Last year we completed three projects at our studio installing two here in Colorado and one in Los Angeles. We’re also working on our first airport public art commission for the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida that will be installed in March. The size of this project made us have to expand into a larger space to construct the parts and pieces of it that will then be put into a large eighteen wheeler and sped to it’s destination for the install.

The first project was completed last April for the City of Broomfield here in Colorado for the Municipal building lobby. We designed a series of leaf mobiles for the space that move gently in the air currents overhead. The mobiles are made from fiberglass sunscreen, fiberglass rods with acrylic coloring added using masking techniques.

"LEAF & FEATHER"

I especially liked the shadow patterns on the spray paint board...

In May and June we traveled to Los Angeles to install another series of mobiles for the newly renovated Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Health Center. The central atrium area provided lots of light for the group of colorful units strung to the upper beams of the skylight. The work moves slowly in the natural air currents and we’re pleased with the way it came out.

"CIRCUMSPECTRUM"

During the summer we started work on a series of wind vanes for an exterior project in City Park of Aurora east of Denver. After many start and stop delays from the renovation and landscape contractors for the park the project was finally installed before the first snow fell in December. The wind vanes turn on 25’ aluminum poles and are constructed of aluminum punched metal screen and aluminum channel and square pipe.

"SOLAR WINDS"

In August we began constructing the frameworks for “Sky Bridges” for the Jacksonville International Airport. The long arched triangular trusses were assembled at our home studio outdoor workspace and quickly took over our small yard while we looked for a larger studio to work in. After a couple months of looking all over Boulder and surrounding communities we finally found an ample and well lit auto showroom that was perfect for our needs.

With a great crew of studio assistants we are now in the final stages of fabrication covering the trusses with mirrored and light reactive materials that will transform the connector bridge of the airport for travelers heading to the concourses from the main ticketing area. We’re excited about the project and trying to imagine the total light effect of the work in the space.

"SKY BRIDGES"

proposal model

a half of the frames finished and stored in our yard

Melanie calling for more materials

The tool table in the outdoor space.

then we moved the operation into a larger space

the units needed to go overhead for storage while working below

the work crew adding the shiny bits in the new studio

We'll be doing some periodic updates on the airport project as it continues..