Mandala Pattern Illusion Whirligig

As I have stated before this is a concept idea only, not a pattern. It is a design that creates the illusion of dots that change color and makes a great kinetic art deco for the yard.

Spacewalking astronaut and space capsule weathervane

Spacewalking astronaut and space capsule weathervane

   So the idea or concept was to create an astronaut walking in space. At first the design seemed to be simple, but as I researched it more I quickly realized that I could take the design to whatever level of detail that I wanted. For presentation purposes I have chosen a simpler design than what an actual astronaut and space capsule would look like. It may be possible to create lifelike replicas but as this project would be exposed to the elements I chose to keep it simple. This way if the weathervane should become damaged it would be easy to make repairs. 
    I chose a weathervane design to minimize moving parts but also decided to add what is referred to as a wobble effect. This is done by adding a part of the design to a spring, metal band, or spring wire. In this case I'm using spring steel wire as the astronauts tether. The bouncing around motion that the astronaut will give in the wind will add to the illusion of someone actually walking in space. 
    The space capsule is actually cut out of 1/2" wood stock and the lower flame is notched so as to fit over the side part of the pivot. The thicker Woodstock allows you to make a more secure attachment to the pivot and the overlapping flame at the bottom will give it a more three-dimensional appearance. It should also be noted that I have intentionally left off the country of origin insignia on the side of the space capsule. This is so that you can put your own insignia on the side of the space capsule such as an American flag or some other countries insignia. 
    The pivot itself is a basic design and you can refer to the pivot design at the bottom of the following post. windmillhorses-weathervane-whirligig 


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Basic types of wind art and instruments

Description of basic wind art and instruments

This poster is intended to give a basic breakdown of the differences between the various wind art and instruments. This is also to clarify what I am talking about in the various blogs and the various terms that I use to describe what I'm working on. 

   


    Weather Veins are probably the oldest form of wind instruments. As time went by they evolved into more decorative forms and sometimes doubled as lightning rods as they were usually mounted on the tops of houses and constructed out of metal. 

    From this evolution arose the whirligig which not only functioned as a wind directional device but as a mechanical animatronic. Usually depicting some comic scene or action such as an old lady washing clothes or a mule kicking a prospector. Some whirligigs have also been adapted to create thumpers to chase away moles and gophers. Generally constructed out of wood there are not too many surviving antique whirligigs.

     Wind spinners or pinwheels are also among some of the oldest wind devices but were created more as a child's toy rather than decoration. When spinners are generally mounted on a short stick about 12 inches long or shorter. More recent designs are in the shapes of flowers and used as yard decorations.

     Weather stations are among the recent instruments created as a tool to monitor whether and meteorological events. Their sophistication now includes electronics that enable them to transmit information wirelessly, which allows them to be placed in remote areas and the unattended. 

    Kinetic art is the most recent addition to wind art and is generally constructed of metal. These works of art use the wind to create movement that is almost an optical illusions. They may also include wind chimes and solar lighting. Their design is more closely related to the wind spinners or pinwheels that children play with but on a much grander scale. They are generally omnidirectional which means they will operate no-matter the direction the wind is blowing.

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