Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 3 - KiteLife

Right, Flying colors of Peter Travis,Australian kite maker extraordinaire . Scoresof hues are combined, some with onlysubtle differences .Below, Travis adjusting bridles on one ofhis 8-to 12-foot diameter cotton poplinkites. Some have as many as 16 bridle legs .Travis brought over 200 pounds of kites toSeattle, eight to fly and three to showon exhibit .By David M . CheckleySpecial report to Kite Lines from DaveCheckley :After three years of planning, theAllied Arts Foundation of Seattlestaged their International Exhibitionof Flags, Banners and Kites at the FlagPlaza Pavilion at Seattle Center fromJuly 10 to 24 .The 253 entries came from all overthe U .S . and 12 foreign countries, includingFrance, Hungary, Belgium,Poland, Australia, Japan, Canada andSweden . Kites, only recently recognizedin Western countries as an artform, were the minority . According toJack Van Gilder, one of the exhibitors,only about 20 looked as if they wouldactually fly. A number that theirmakers chose to call kites were reallyhanging sculptures .The official list of winners included :First Place Award to Edward W. Randell,Jr., Long Beach, CA, for GrommetsChinese kite (an inventive wall hang -ing) ; Second Place Awards to AhmadNabi Naimi, Bethesda, MD, for hisAfghan kite (a flyable kite), and toSusan Nininger, Seattle, WA, for AWearable Kite (a whimsical sculptureof a human figure outfitted as if forspace travel) ; and Third Place Awardto Margaret Little, Philadelphia, PA,for Rising Sun II kite (apparently notintended for flying) .Selection of works exhibited and ofaward winners was made by an independentjury including Eudorah M .Moore, Director, California Design,Pasadena ; Paul Chadbourne Mills,Director, Santa Barbara Museum ofArt ; and Anne Focke, Director, and/orGallery, Seattle . Unfortunately, therewere no kite people on the jury (anunsuccessful attempt was made to getPaul Garber), so some of the awards,notably the first place among the kites,were disappointing to most kitefliers .In spite of this failing, the jury put togetheran interesting and colorful show .The stars of the exhibition werePeter Travis's kites from Australia,which arrived too late for the judging .The three kites shown, Nebulae, Diaboloand Celebration, ranged from 8 to12 feet across, with tail assemblies upto 200 feet long, which were drapedthe length of the pavilion . Each kiteis a work of art, combining both brilliantand subtle colors so that theyhave maximum effect with the light(or in this case the pavilion lights)shining through the fabric . To givethe reader some idea of the size andcomplexity of Travis's kites, theAustralian government recently commissionedone of similar size for $8000 .Travis visited Seattle, and then traveledin Canada, under the auspices of theAustralia Council .Travis is a professional designer andteacher, with a background in textile,fashion and industrial design . He isalso a well-known potter and teaches