My Creative Workbook

Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman

Wind Spinner

I needed to make a very precise wood spinner for my Harnessing the Wind design, that will be stable, exactly the same shape and extremely light. But even though the spinner should be light it should also be able to be extremely strong and durable.

Harnessing the wind bend

I made the outer blade shape from three plastic hoola-hoops. To create the exact shape I had to cut the hoops open and permanently twist them. For this I filled each hoop with boiling water to make it pliable. I poured out the water, shaped the pipe (to be exactly the same as the other two) and then cooled it down with ice water.

Harnessing the wind cover hoola

then covered the pipe with bark to resemble branches.

Wax disks for the Harnessing the Wind floral art design

The inside of the spinner was made up of tiers of wax disks suspended in willow rings that I wove around wire to resemble a tornado or vortex.

I also wanted my spinner and wax disks to spin independently with the slightest of breeze.

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Tutorials

11 February 2015 Stripping foliage from weaving stems

Remove foliage from stems to weave with

Favourite Flowers

Salix matsudana "Tortuosa"

Curly Willow, Chinese Willow, Tortured Willow, Globe Willow, Dragon's Claw, Hankow Willow

Related Designs

13 April 2011 Harnessing the Wind

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...ok not really that fancy- it’s made from paper pulp. A cardboard box Yule log… really. In the spirit of 2020- I am inspired by the endless stream of cardboard boxes being...

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Gorgeous Aquilegia vulgaris spring flower... with it's own springy thing!