• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Public Art Sculpture Submissions 2015: Puff of Wind

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
"A Puff of Wind: Whenever, Wherever!"

This was selected as a finalist and now I here that it has been chosen for display by Manhattan City, California in the plaza outside the town hall.


boat sculpture 02 28 15 big.210.jpg



boat sculpture 02 28 15 big.212.jpg



boat sculpture 02 28 15 big.213.jpg



Asher Kelman: "Puff of Wind" 2015


Material: Stainless Steel and Acrylic Paint.

Dimensions 16.6' high on 9ft pole

Computer Generated Graphic



I designed a 1" to 1' maquette based on a Massachusetts type Gaff-rigged Beetle boat, and fabricated use a 3D printer.


Now I will do the engineering for the full scale model, which has to withstand winds, summer heat and winter storms from the Pacific Ocean.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Now I have to meet with engineers and work out the wind loading that might occur and deal with the forces on the sail and hull.

Asher
 

Andy brown

Well-known member
Well done Asher.
Your legend continues to grow.
Can't wait to see shots of it in situ with nice natural light and a few onlookers.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well done Asher.
Your legend continues to grow.
Can't wait to see shots of it in situ with nice natural light and a few onlookers.

Thanks Andy,

Thanks for stopping by. I love visitors! It's thrilling to push oneself to re-examine one's inner "Cathedral of the mind", to explore gems there and exporting then, test one's boundaries. Once put in physical form and shared, one is so exposed. This is where we are most bold but vulnerable, so I appreciate your kind words.

Asher
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Asher,

Thanks Andy,

Thanks for stopping by. I love visitors! It's thrilling to push oneself to re-examine one's inner "Cathedral of the mind", to explore gems there and exporting then, test one's boundaries. Once put in physical form and shared, one is so exposed. This is where we are most bold but vulnerable, so I appreciate your kind words.

This is a stunning work, even though this class of art is not wholly "my cup of tea". Equally wondrous is the process by which you are realizing this work.

Bravo!

Best regards,

Doug
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Excellent work !

I wouldn't say that this one is better than the other. Yes, they are different. I like best this one then. :)

Very dynamic, no problems of lights, no problem of green areas. It just needs to hold in place to the elements.

The presence of a "person" is important to give the sculpture a scale to compare with.

I specially like the two areas on the sail which reflect what is in front of it.

Does the white tube has light inside ? If so, what is it made of ?
 
This is such an interesting piece. I, like Antonio, really like the portion that reflects what is around.

I'm curious about the 3D printing. Is the concept one that was done on computer and then printed and did you print it yourself? This new technology is interesting to me as it a whole new platform to explore. I've seen some very unique jewellery pieces created using this and that were surprisingly beautiful.

Also, how does this work when you do a proposal of this grandeur in terms of getting the project done. Do they give you X amount of money and you need to work within that constraint, or you do the project and pay everything on your own and they pay you once delivered.

Also what is the time frame to get this done. What materials will it be done in. You gave us so little details -- we need more! :-D

I do hope everything works out with the engineers and that you don't have to change the design too much and can't wait to see photos of the final piece in situ! :)
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio and Maggie,

You ask about fabrication of the full scale work. It is an an entirely new challenge, but straightforward. One escapes from the structural limitations of mm tolerances and dangers of breaking and the specific and awkward demands of printing complex forms that must be assembled and finished. From a delicate material.

Now the demands are to build it with absolute safety, stability and endurance to insults and weather in mind. But this kind of engineering I have done before many times and so it is just a matter of attending to all the risk areas : weight distribution, leverage, wind shear, storm water drainage, thermal expansion and the like. While the outside will be more impressive than the hand painted scale model as it now is blessed with magnificent and-polished mirror stainless steel, the innards are structural steel, optimized for handling all the forces and allowing everything to accept thermal changes without deforming.

In the end, it's just a matter of light, reflection, form and the viewing and "being" experience of visitors. :)

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
It was 17 months ago that I posted these pictures.

Since then I became educated in the forces a large surface facing the offshore winds in Southern Califirnia might suffer in a storm. Since the sculpture was to be in a public viewing area, safety became and over arching design necessity. So, starting from that realization,I sought to make the structure strong enough to withstand any likely wind blast. Fortunately, my long time dear friend, (and designer of the look of this web site), suggested that I should, of course, have the boat able to rotate so as to align with the wind direction and thus always minimize the leverage on the structure! That idea on itself led to learning about bearing assemblies and switching structural engineering to make this feature a central kinetic element for both beauty and safety.

Sourcing the bearings in China would have saved many thousands of dollars but in the end I purchased massive beatings from SKF in Germany as I couldn't take a risk in the quality of such a key component. There are two stacked bearings in a set up that takes into account vertical and off axial loads and moments and these are built into a custom designed and massive structural steel assembly.

Naturally, to have lights, one needs a central source of electricity and to overcome the barrier of the 17 ft boat always moving, I utilised an insertion into the bearing of a rotating electrical connection for ground, positive and negative using brushes on mercury.

But all this is mostly hidden unless one looks, (and one is invited), to see the structure under the "skirt" of the hull. I observed that we only see the part of the hull that is above the waterline. So I removed all of the hull that is normally below the water. This allows for the waves to be more prominent and a curious visitor to peer under her "skirt" so to speak.

The rim is made of 0.5" steel and the waves 3/8" steel.

The masts are 3" in diameter and follow the form of the model very closely with the main mast, a horizontal boom and an angular gaff mast on the top. The main mast is kept in position with 3 3/4" steel cables in the front and 2 0.5" cables to each side. The beam is supported by 5 steel rods that go to lugs on the steel skeletal frame inside the shapely rim.

The most unchanged part of the sculpture is the make up of the the wind-filled sail. There are alternating tall 20 ft panels of carbon steel powder coated with bright yellow, alternating with mirror polished stainless steel. Each panel has 4 radii, (plural of "radius"), to provide the impression of a billowing, wind driven sail.

One feature that has been changed completely is the shape of the "Puff of Wind". Originally I conceived of a swirl of white plastic. The issue here is that it is a foreign esthetic to the shapes of the waves of the boat. So I chose to make a stack of "Wind Puff Waves" of polished stainless steel and a pale blue color. This has the advantage of being able to directional light the waves and provide a kinetic light show which has meaning to the sense of force and influence the wind had on the sails.

Well, I will start posting photographs as tomorrow I will be using two cranes to
load the sail from its home fabrication shop to be sent to meet the bearing assembly, boat with waves and the underlying 8,0000 lb support system.

There we will study the best way to wreck it safely using a forklift and then disassemble all the parts. The stainless steel for a final polish and the carbon steel for sandblasting until white, zinc primer and then baking at 450 degrees F to make a perfect finish.

Then we will reassemble the boat and drive under escort to Mnahattan Beach to finally give the work it's public showing!

Asher
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Asher,

It was 17 months ago that I posted these pictures.

Since then I became educated in the forces a large surface facing the offshore winds in Southern Califirnia might suffer in a storm. Since the sculpture was to be in a public viewing area, safety became and over arching design necessity. So, starting from that realization,I sought to make the structure strong enough to withstand any likely wind blast. Fortunately, my long time dear friend, (and designer of the look of this web site), suggested that I should, of course, have the boat able to rotate so as to align with the wind direction and thus always minimize the leverage on the structure! That idea on itself led to learning about bearing assemblies and switching structural engineering to make this feature a central kinetic element for both beauty and safety.

Sourcing the bearings in China would have saved many thousands of dollars but in the end I purchased massive beatings from SKF in Germany . . .

Well, the home of the ball bearing!

. . . as I couldn't take a risk in the quality of such a key component. There are two stacked bearings in a set up that takes into account vertical and off axial loads and moments and these are built into a custom designed and massive structural steel assembly.

Naturally, to have lights, one needs a central source of electricity and to overcome the barrier of the 17 ft boat always moving, I utilised an insertion into the bearing of a rotating electrical connection for ground, positive and negative using brushes on mercury.

But all this is mostly hidden unless one looks, (and one is invited), to see the structure under the "skirt" of the hull. I observed that we only see the part of the hull that is above the waterline. So I removed all of the hull that is normally below the water. This allows for the waves to be more prominent and a curious visitor to peer under her "skirt" so to speak.

The rim is made of 0.5" steel and the waves 3/8" steel.

The masts are 3" in diameter and follow the form of the model very closely with the main mast, a horizontal boom and an angular gaff mast on the top. The main mast is kept in position with 3 3/4" steel cables in the front and 2 0.5" cables to each side. The beam is supported by 5 steel rods that go to lugs on the steel skeletal frame inside the shapely rim.

The most unchanged part of the sculpture is the make up of the the wind-filled sail. There are alternating tall 20 ft panels of carbon steel powder coated with bright yellow, alternating with mirror polished stainless steel. Each panel has 4 radio to provide the impression of a billowing, wind driven sail.

One feature that has been changed completely is the shape of the "Puff of Wind". Originally I conceived of a swirl of white plastic. The issue here is that it is a foreign esthetic to the shapes of the waves of the boat. So I chose to make a stack of "Wind Puff Waves" of polished stainless steel and a pale blue color. This has the advantage of being able to directional light the waves and provide a kinetic light show which has meaning to the sense of force and influence the wind had on the sails.

Well, I will start posting photographs as tomorrow I will be using two cranes to
load the sail from its home fabrication shop to be sent to meet the bearing assembly, boat with waves and the underlying 8,0000 lb support system.

There we will study the best way to wreck, (no not that, Doug)but to actually devise how to erect it safely using a forklift and then disassemble all the parts. The stainless steel for a final polish and the carbon steel for sandblasting until white, zinc primer and then baking at 450 degrees F to make a perfect finish.

Then we will reassemble the boat and drive under escort to Mnahattan Beach to finally give the work it's public showing!

This is all just thrilling! I am so proud of all your work on so many fronts of this project.

I am startled to learn of the use of a mercury slip ring assembly. I had thought that this would be out of vogue today.

I'm trying to figger out what you meant to say that was inadvertently transmogrified to "There we will study the best way to wreck it safely". Of course, you are near Hollywood, where safe ways to have ships wrecked have been perfected a century ago.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
It's interesting, Doug, that once a few parameters are fixed, such as a giant sail that cannot be dropped as in a real boat, one is faced with physics, necessities and civic reponsibilties that one would never even imagine were connected with art, when one builds the first wooden model and then sketches a derivative to be built on top of a pole in a sculpture garden.

In the process I have learned a lot about my own capabilities and limitations. Fortunately I have managed to assimilate knowledge and skill sets sufficient to tackle each issue as it arrived by knowing where to get help and what machines could allow me to recreate the shapes and curves my my mind sketched!

Asher
 

Andy brown

Well-known member
Great stuff Asher.
I'm really looking forward to seeing images of the sculpture in its resting place.
I think we have been aware here (at OPF,... all seven of us, sorry 700 or 7,000, whatever it is) that you have been preoccupied with the final stages of this wonderful project.
So don't hold back, bring us the images, bring us the technical, the artistic and the criwd shots to boot.

On a side note, we have a cooking show here in OZ, "Masterchef", essentially it's another 'reality show' with all that that entails. It is however very good in terms of the quality of cooking, cheffing etc. This week, the leading contestants have been flown to California where they are visiting wineries, the Golden Gate Bridge etc.
Anyway, point was it made me think of you.

Second side note: speaking of wind and wind forces and the like, we are having an unusual Winter here in S.E.OZ, wet and windy as opposed to the standard, crisp, dry, sunny and still.
The wind came ripping in today and despite my propensity to avoid such things as wind and cold, I ventured out with my poor camera and put myself in the strike zone (a few pics to follow).

Well done again Asher. You bloody legend!
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thanks Andy,

I appreciate your tolerance for me being away from the wheel of this boat, OPF. It is fine with its core sailors, but we are in for some refitting once I am fully awake again!

Get rather sleepy schlepping steel, in a temp of 89 degrees F. Must be my age!

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
A Dream Realized

Well, my work, "Puff of Wind" is now 90% installed at the Sculpture Gardens of the City of Manhattan Beach, California.

I am so happy with the way the sculpture reflects and fits in with the environment in an organic way. When I photograph a model, they are already beautiful and just have to be well lit and be able to pose. However, steel has little inherent beauty, except in the heavenly wonder of it's molecular structure with orbits of electrons dancing incessantly.

Steel is very hard to work with, heavy, non pliant and also dangerous. So I am especially happy with the result in seeing the fruition of an enormous amount of labor, far more than I ever imagined.

With my recent heart attack, (and close call with the grim reaper), I was fearful that my wife would be left with the burden of hundreds of thousands of dollars of shaped steel for which she would have to fly in my Dutch engineer to fathom how to assemble!

Puff of Wind installation october 8th 2016.jpg


Asher Kelman: "Puff of Wind"
Installation Manhattan Beach 2016

Now, thanks to great skilled hands and my wife's intervention, I am blessed with decades of future work and appreciation of each day.

There's still work to do on the sculpture. I have to add the waves and the actual "Puff of Wind" to send flashes of light to the sails at night. But now it has life in it and I cannot suppress my gratitude for having the opportunity to do this work.

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
I am sure you are very proud of your work and you are right !

I am also sure that you have been working hard for all this time.

Congratulations ! I hope to be able to see this sculpture in your company some time in the near future.

Cheers ! :)
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Asher,

Well, my work, "Puff of Wind" is now 90% installed at the Sculpture Gardens of the City of Manhattan Beach, California.

Puff of Wind installation october 8th 2016.jpg


Asher Kelman: "Puff of Wind"
Installation Manhattan Beach 2016

That is just exquisite!

We are so pleased that you beat The Grim Reaper, not just so you could complete "Puff of Wind". But, that having been said, we're so glad it was able to be completed too!

We'll look forward to the full "outfitting".

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thanks Antonio and Doug for the kind words!

The two surprises for you to come are the waves and the "Puff of Wind" elements.

The waves are curved, welded and sandblasted and completed with a beautiful smooth powder coat of UV and salt resistant pigment acrylic paint in a purple-blue. I am now welding the polished stainless steel "Puff" to symbolize the wind. It has changed from a freehand overlapping set of whiling circles to stacked triangles and finally a form of waves akin to water waves, but from stainless steel polished to mirror finish. The latter approach unifies the motif of waves and makes for a consistent esthetic balance.

I will still make the other forms, but as free standing art forms.

Asher
 

Paul Abbott

New member
Congratulations and very well done for your skill and effort and execution, Asher. It's good to see that you've got something so artistic, steadfast and of an important mainstay implemented, for your good self and the public in general to appreciate like this. It's quite a feat...
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Congratulations and very well done for your skill and effort and execution, Asher. It's good to see that you've got something so artistic, steadfast and of an important mainstay implemented, for your good self and the public in general to appreciate like this. It's quite a feat...


Paul,

Once again, I am privileged to count on you as a friend. Thanks for visiting and the pat on the back! Much appreciated.

Here are some more pictures.




_mg_9161 copy.jpg


Asher Kelman: Rigging first with Nylon Cable


Rigging was a little complicated. We started with nylon cables to get the mast stabilized as fast as possible and then changed them to fitted swaged 1-19 0.5" stainless steel marine cables with turnbuckles to preload the cables. We actually have to order an instrument to measure and adjust the actual load on the cables, one by one.

I am amazed by the riches of an open design. I thought I could integrate with the environment but seeing it is sheer wonder to me. The art gives back so much more than I'd imagine!


_mg_9193 copy.jpg





_mg_9196 copy.jpg





_mg_9190 copy.jpg





Asher Kelman: 3 Views of the Sculpture Puff of Wind


Enjoy,

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I was going to add a canvas deck, as on a catamaran, but I think now that that's an intrusion and the boat has informed me that it's not necessary! So I will have to cut of the dozens of threaded steel rods I had welded on the charcoal boat rim to hold the deck taut. "Sometimes less is more! ?"

I am taken back by the will of the boat as it gets air in its nostrils and answers back to me, like a college kid moving out of the house!

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Hi Doug,

You're so observant, of course, the trait of an engineer!

The top flange is obvious. It supports the bearing assembly.

The lower flange is to hold 3/4" steel cables anchored to a tons of steel stacked on a massive concrete block disguised as a flower pot! The steel is topped with a 2" plate and there are 8 one inch threaded holes for 1" eye bolts, machine flat at the top to accommodate a marine jaw of a clevis with a swaged end to hold the 3/4" stainless steel cable.

The upper flange also has 4 1/2" eye bolts to be connected to 4 1/2" steel cables to go to the corners of the steel plate underneath the concrete pot.

The set of 8 3/4" cables deals with the moments applied to the supporting 8" steel pole from a hurricane loading force on the sail. I did the plan for the case in which the bearing assembly got stuck and the sails were receiving the 100-170 mph wind head on.

The lower 4 cables are just to keep the concrete pot within the steel restrictions welded to the base in case of some tipping at the very highest wind speeds with the bearings jammed!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Just amazing piece of artwork ! Congratulations. Quite a job !

Can we see some photos of the piece in the environment, where it stands ?... please.
 
Top