Wedding Anniversary Whirligigs!

~ Wedding Anniversary Whirligigs ~

It was a very special whirligig workshop this Saturday.  Bruce and Annette chose to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary at Hutch making whirligigs.  

Bruce created a circus themed gig (pictured above) and Annette made hers on a candy theme.  Both were amazing and spun beautifully in our gusty Saturday weather.

I could tell that they were both so excited to get their whirligigs home and put them in a spot where they will always remember that other special day when they made whirlgigs at Hutch. 

May Annettte and Bruce's love spin on.

Whirligigs at the Farm.

~ Whirligigs at the Farm ~

What a beautiful weekend it was last Saturday and Sunday.  Sunny and warm in October.  Can you believe it?  I had the opportunity to be at Gordon's Skagit Farm for the annual Festival of Family Farms event.  Thousands of people visited the farm enjoying the weather and the pumpkin and squash harvest.  Making whirligigs and talking to people was non stop and very enjoyable.  These photos of me were taken by a fun couple who are big fans of the hutch whirligigs  (Brian and Becky Burch). It was so nice of them to send them to me.

Here I am soaking up the sun and working on a gig redesign.

The funny thing about this picture is that my son makes this same goofy grin in all his school photos.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, that's for sure.

Notes on Hubs.

~ Notes on Bike Hubs ~

You may wonder what makes our whirligigs spin.

The answer is a bicycle hub.  A basic front wheel hub is designed to spin well and fast and last a good long time.  I originally repurposed old bike wheels to get their hubs, but when I began teaching workshops and needing so many so often I had to start ordering them new.  I wanted to point out that not all front hubs are the same.  TYhey all should spin and work for a whirligig but the material it's made of an it's dimensions can vary slightly. Aluminum hubs are lighter in weight than steel but this makes little difference as far as the spinning goes.  What does matter is that often a hub is tight and not smooth moving.  Hold onto one bolt end an spin with your fingers.  It should rotate smoothly and easily.

If it doesn't, it may have a little rubber dust cover over the black lock nut.  These aren'y needed for whirligig purposes and they slow down the spin.  Just pry it off with fingers or a flat head screwdriver. (see below).

Next if it still seems tight, put one ends lock nut in a table top vice clamp and with a closed end wrench on the opposite black lock nut turn gradually to the left.  As you do this, continually stop and spin the hub.  Stop  turning the wrench as soon as the hub is spinning smoothly and easily.  If you over loosen the nuts you will notice a up and down wiggle in the hub that can cause the whirligig to vibrate as it spins.  If you experience this vibration in your gig, tighten up the hub slightly.

Happy Spinning!

Baker's Whirligig.

~ A Baker's Whirligig ~

Well, we have a new addition to our fence at Hutch.  The "Baker" whirligig is a combination of large mixing bowl, hand sifters, and an old Sunbeam beater mixer.  I'm waiting for a good windy day to see it in action, but I have a feeling that this one will really cook.

Hutch at Gordon's Farm!

~ Hutch at Gordon's Farm ~

Just a reminder to everyone planning a visit to Hutch this weekend.

We will not be there.  We have a booth at Gordon Skagit Farms for the "Festival of Family Farms" in the beautiful Skagit Valley.  I will be demonstrating whirligig making from 10am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 6th and 7th.  Bring the family by Gordon's for pumpkin picking, corn mazing, and cider drinking.  I hope to see you there!

Festival of Family Farms.

~ Festival of Family Farms ~

The Skagit Valley celebrates it's Festival of Family Farms on the weekend of October 6th and 7th.  During the weekend you can enjoy farm tours, harvest markets, animal exhibits, demonstrations, kid's activities, hay rides, corn and hay mazes, pumpkin patches, food, and music.  It is a wonderful thing to do with the family this fall.  Gordon Skagit Farms on McLean Rd. in Mount Vernon has been a local fall tradition for my family and my wife's family before me.  Picking pumpkins, drinking apple cider, getting lost in a corn maze, and taking scary pictures in the "Haunted Room" against the backdrop of Eddie Gordon's fantastic painted scenes, are things our whole family looks forward to. The above pictured pumpkin is a sign in front of the farm painted by Eddie.  Look for it.

This year I will be watching the family as I demonstrate the wonders of whirligig making.  Hutch will have a booth where I, with drill in hand will be spinning the junk and old tools that you find in your backyard shed or kitchen draws into whimsical kinetic sculpture.  It will be a good time to observe the process or even to sign up for upcoming workshops at Hutch.

So I look forward to seeing you in the crisp fall air on October 6th and 7th from 10am-4pm at Gordon Skagit Farm.

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 6

~ The Whirligigs of Summer ~

Part VI

Summer ended on a very fun note with this whirligig made by Margie.  When she started unloading her goodies from the boxes she brought in I started to drool.  Fun and colorful vintage toys and kitchen doodads.  She admittedly wasn't planning on putting her gig outside unless she was having a party so it she did't have to concern herself at all about function and she could just create fun visual eye candy.

This is a picture of some of the items that she didn't use. Margie has enough stuff for multiple whirligigs and I have a feeling I'll see her again for another workshop.  Looking forward to it!

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 5

~ The Whirligigs of Summer ~

Part V

I just can't help it but when someone brings an item that I haven't seen before I get excited about the whirligig.  In this case it was the tin mold that sits below the enameled coffee pot.  The larger cake pan that the spoons are attached to is pretty interesting as well with its' star like shape.

The little copper Buda bells and rope molds on this gig I definitely hadn't seen before.  The flower petal bowl at the center adds a lot to the look of this whirligig.

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 4

~ The Whirligigs of Summer ~

Part IV

The two whirligigs shown here are good examples of a color pallet.  Yellow, black and red is a striking choice.  Outdoors they will begin to rust and the colors will fade and soften.  But for now they will spin in the wind showing off their boldness. Brenda, the creator of the whirligig at the top is a super talented Steampunk artist and we used to carry her extraordinary jewelry in our shop. Her friend that created the gum ball machine topped gig below was also an artist and art teacher.  It was great getting the chance to hang out with these cool women and making 2 very cool whirligigs.

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 3

~ The Whirligigs of Summer ~

Part III (revised)

A record was set in July for the longest distance traveled to take the whirligig workshop at Hutch.  Karen and Frank drove all the way from Southern California just to make whirligigs.  That is amazing!  Karen had been wanting to take the workshop for a couple of years and it finally worked out.  I loved it, and I'm pretty sure they did too.

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 2

~ The Whirligigs of Summer ~

Part II

The June whirligigs were pretty special.  This is one of my favorites to date and has a story that's a workshop first. The couple that made it are from Gig Harbor, which in itself it pretty funny. They ran a half marathon that morning in Seattle, then drove up to La Conner and built this Whirligig finishing in almost record time (2:30pm). That's fast. They were a super fun couple and they produced a super fun whirligig.  I could use that kind of energy. I'm assuming that this whirligig spins on their Dahlia farm in Gig Harbor now.

The Whirligigs of Summer- Part 1

~The Whirligigs of Summer~

Part I

Tom, Sharon, & Al.

I've been accumulating a bunch of great photos over the past couple of months, due to the great work by the many participants in our whirligig workshops.  Tom, Sharon and Al created their gigs in May and it was a lot of fun as I recall.

This is a good example of how you can use both new and old items together on the same gig.  Eventually being outdoors, everything will look weathered and old.

Old flatware is pretty labor intensive to drill.  A tip is to try to bend the handle using a couple of fingers with gentle pressure.  If it doesn't flex it will probably take a while to drill through.  Also, some materials that are plastics or composites can be brittle when drilling.  I believe the purple plates on the gig above were bamboo and had the tendency to crack.

Sharon had a challenge with her Stainless Mugs.  We can't drill through stainless so it's on my "Don't Bring" list, but we made it work by creating metal straps that wrapped around the handles and attached to the lid of the red tin.  Everyone needs to have one challenge during the process.

New Video

Here is a new video

from one of our 

whirligig workshops

http://youtu.be/b2ZQLeadq80

Garden Club Whirligigs

~ Garden Club Whirligigs ~

The latest whirligig workshop consisted of members of the Woodinville Garden Club and we had been planning this for over a year.  I knew that they would be excited and ready to go.

And it was very true....whenever someone pre paints objects for their whirligig I know that they've been thinking and planning for a while.  Love the color!

Hustling and bustling in the studio!

Here, Cindy and I are discussing the proportions on her gig.

Adding a second hub created more height and distance between wind catchers.

They were a fun but very focused group, which is the perfect combination of both maker and whirligig.

A great whirligig needs to focus the wind's energy and be fun to look at.

I always like it when a parent and their child sign up for a workshop.  That's quality time and a great memory.

Dangling items from wire is a technique that has been utilized a few times over the years, but placing a copper tub at top and drilling random holes in the side walls to create a leaky tub effect was a workshop first. 

So many tiny little screws and washers.

Sometimes things happen in an unplanned way.  Like not being able to use a particular object because it was made of stainless steel and having to substitute a different item.  In this case the unplanned red tin added a color element to the whirligig.  I like it!


Thanks Woodinville Whirligig Team!
And a special thanks to Rebecca Love for volunteering and being the photographer that captured all these nice pictures.

A Special Gift

~ A Special Gift ~

Well I suffered a serious bump on the noggin today and it was due to trying to do a task too quickly.  Rush rush rush,  I was in the backyard attempting to set a post for a special whirligig that I made for my soon to be 4 year old son.  I stood up too quickly and bonked my head on his very low basketball rim.  A few hours and a few staples later I seem to be doing fine but the whirligig never got installed.  Maybe in a couple of days I will get back out there.  Anyway, here it is for you all to enjoy.  You probably guessed by now that he loves trains.

Hutch in the New Year.

~ Hutch in the New Year ~

We are very excited for the new year at hutch.  It is certain to be full of creative ideas and activity.  Workshops, classes, and demonstrations, designed to capture the imagination and interest in people of all ages.  Expect to see classes in making all sorts of fun things and the processes will vary from baking to sewing to paper sculpting.  And don't worry the whirligig creating will be a constant workshop in the new year.  Here is the initial schedule for hutch classes in January and February 2012.  I'm sure we will be adding more into the mix so stay tuned into the blog for any fun additions.

~Hutch Workshops in January & February~

There are so many fun and creative workshops at Hutch these days it’s hard to list them all but here goes……..

Whirligig Making -           Sat. Jan. 14^th               Sat. Feb. 11^th

                                             Sat. Jan. 28^th               Sat. Feb. 25^th

11:30am- 4:30pm

cost: $100.

Paper Houses-                       Mon. Jan.9^th                           Mon. Feb. 6^th

                                             Wed. Jan. 18^th              Mon. Feb. 27^th

                                             Mon. Jan. 30^th

1:00- 3:00pm

cost: $20.

Paper House Light-                Fri. Jan. 21^st                         Fri. Feb. 3^rd

                                                                                 Fri. Feb. 17^th

12:00- 3:00pm

cost: $40.

 Sweet Little Tweet Birdcage -

                                             Fri. Jan. 6^th                          Wed. Feb. 8^th

                                             Mon. Jan. 23^rd               Wed. Feb. 22^nd

1:00- 3:30pm

cost: $30.

Origami Bird Mobile-              Wed. Jan. 4^th               Wed. Feb. 1^st

                                             Mon. Jan 16^th                Wed. Feb. 15^th

2:00-3:30pm

cost: $45.

December Whirligig Workshop!

~ December Whirligig Workshop! ~

"Make your tree this season be a whirligig"

Sign up now for the December whirligig workshop at Hutch!  Pictured above are a few gigs that were made by participants in a recent workshop.  Wouldn't you like to create your very own whimsical wind spinner for your yard.  Don't let your new year be whirligigless.  I know that December is a particularly busy month for most but making a gig on a Saturday can be a great stress reliever.  It could also be a great gift for a special someone.  The workshop is a hands on all day fun fest and all the structural and  mechanical parts are supplied for you.  All you need to bring is the fun stuff to attach to the structure and  catch the wind.  A distictive" Topper" object is also required.  Give me a call as soon as possible if you would like to sign on up.

Whirligig 101

Date: Saturday, December 17th

Location: HUTCH in La Conner

Age Level: Ages 14 and up *Must be able to handle a power drill.

Time: 11:30am- 4:30pm

Cost: $85. for a single spinner

         $100. for a double spinner

                       

"Mrs. Picklefish"

 ~ Mrs. Picklefish ~

Sometimes coming up with a title for something is really challenging and other times it is super easy.  I've been working on the whirligig at hutch for a while now, using it as a demo gig during workshops.  One day a woman mentioned that a fish mold that I had painted dark green looked like a pickle and she was right about that.  A while later, when I was playing around with putting a coffee pot on the top, I inverted it to see how it would visually work.  I saw it as a head straight off and "Mrs. Picklefish" was born.  She is a single rotating gig that measures 26" tall from the base and 14" wide and deep.  It will be for sale in our etsy shop as soon I figure out what the shipping costs will be.  I guarantee that this gig will spin like crazy. In the meantime, check out some of the fun vintage finds that Kristin just found for the shop!

"Hutch Saturday Event"

~ HUTCH EVENT ~

This Saturday, November 5th is the middle of the annual Art's Alive weekend in La Conner.  That just so happens to be the weekend we reopened our shop as Hutch 2 years ago.  To celebrate our Hutch anniversary we will be having art demonstrations throughout the day.  From noon to 2 pm I will be demonstrating the process of how our whirligigs are made and from 2 pm to 4 pm the creative Kristin will be demonstrating her magical technique of making continuous line drawings in thread using a sewing machine.  Whether you are a quilter, artist, or candlestick maker, you will find this to be an amazing thing to watch.  If you've visited Hutch in the past it will be great to see you again  and you know where to go if not just look for the whirligig fence and the balloons on the right right as you enter the town of La Conner.

See you on Saturday!

Recent whirligig workshop creations

~ Whirligig Creations at Hutch ~

I know that I always say that the last workshop was the greatest to date and the truth is they are all fantastic .  The whirligigs pictured above were made in the July workshop.  I'm always excited about the "stuff" that everyone brings to create their personal wind statement.  Often the funner the item the bigger the challenge but the challenge is fun and thrilling when we make it work.  These folks were into it big time.  Two of them had already planned and prepped many of the components that went on their gigs.  LOVE IT!!!

I also love getting emails from workshoppers after the class is over with questions about new gigs they are now working on.  To think that hutch may be spreading the joy of whirligigs throughout the land puts a big smile on my mug.  If any of my former workshoppers would send me a picture of themselves standing by there whirligig wherever it ended up being installed I would love to create a blog page called "As The Gig Spins".  

The next whirligig workshop is scheduled for Saturday, September 24th.   The October workshop date will be posted soon.