I have been waiting forever and a day to post this for you:

Flying Hulls, a rolling ball sculpture customized to the client’s wishes based on a passion for sailing.

I’ve had to sit on this for about two months now! This rolling ball sculpture commission was created as a Christmas gift for a spouse. The two share a passion for sailing, and I was excited about this the moment the client asked, “Can you do something shaped like a sailboat?” Yes! Yes, I can!

Themed pieces can be very challenging, but they also allow me to stretch out and force me to think in different ways. I could immediately imagine designing a frame shaped like a sailboat, and once the client emailed me a photo of their catamaran I knew it would be perfect.

The overall design took careful consideration of the appropriate number, size and shape of the sales as well as the placement of the mast. These are details that I feel are extremely important, as I believe the client will get a greater amount of enjoyment from a work that more closely matches their own vessel. In addition, I curved the outer edges of the sail so that they look as if they are filled with air.

Of course, a catamaran with its sails filled is hardly sitting still. One of the wonderful things the client provided for me as part of my initial research was a video of them on the boat sailing it. I learned from that their practice of “flying hulls,” where the boat only has one of its twin hulls in the water at a time, leaned over from the force of a strong wind, jetting along at speed.

Once I had that image in my head I couldn’t get it out, and the idea of placing the frame of the boat level was just not going to do. I had to make it more dynamic. I had to give it visual motion even as it sat still! I decided I would kick up the frame as I had seen, leaning it up on a single hull. It required a bit more work, yes, but it looks so much better!

I suppose I could go one forever about the creation of it, but I tend to get a little wrapped up in what I do. There were many fun and even frustrating challenges in creating this piece, but it turned out wonderfully, and I was given a wonderful Christmas gift in return: a video of the new owner opening up his present on Christmas day! It was SO cool to see his face as he opened the box!

Now I’ll let you all take a look at it in action! Thanks for reading, and if you do enjoy the video, please give it a thumbs up on Youtube and/or a comment. I greatly appreciate your support!