Advice needed on art project

[Red Eco]

Hi all,

(Wasn't sure where best to place this, so please move if there is a more appropriate spot)

I am hoping for some advice on an art project that I am building with some friends for the regional burn here in Oz, as well as some other festivals.

I basically need some tips on materials and design to make sure the thing doesn't blow over in the wind. If someone could point me in the right direction, I would be most grateful!

Thanks so much,

m

[gaminwench]

Post your plan here, if it's in the wrong spot a mod will move it to the appropriate place.

Be assured, once you've posted your plan,
eplayans will come with a vengeance and critique, suggest, modify and snark all over it.
This really is a great collection of brains for tried and true, boots in the dust information.

Whatcha got??

[Red Eco]

Looking at a heart - not a love heart, but a human heart. I've attached a rough mock up below next to a dude for size comparison. So it's probably 2 or 2.5 meters tall - so about 6 or 7 feet.

Not sure on what materials yet, but need something lightweight, easily transportable, and won't blow over in a nasty wind. One of the sites we want to put it up on gets playa-strength winds. Original idea was to use a fabric outer and some sort of inner structure (sort of like Snuff Puppets) but not wedded to that idea.

So basically need advice on best materials and how to secure it.

Bring on the snark.

[AntiM]

Moved to the proper forum.

Cool project!

[trilobyte]

Sounds like a fun project! Something that is all three, lightweight, easily transportable, and ruggedized (to withstand the elements) will be a challenge. I'd also suggest that you factor in being climbable...because whether you want people to climb on it or not, that's going to be something people try to do.

My advice would be for you to start out by joining somebody else's project and be a part of their crew. In my opinion that's probably the easiest way to to get a bunch of the experience you'd need. Building an art piece can be hard. A bigger piece can be harder. Then figuring out how to make it rugged can be hard. And then making all that into something that's transportable... harder still. All those elements are important, not only because you want to make the thing happen, but because you don't want it to fall over and get damaged... or damage somebody... or get caught up in the pain and agony of transportation logistics.

Most people I know who do that well learned by working with other people on their projects, and then they started small and worked their way up to bigger things.

For something structurally sound that could withstand playa-strength winds, I'd recommend a steel framework. However, that may not be as transportable as you like. Aluminum weighs less, but can be trickier to work with, more prone to damage either in transport or when people try and climb on it, and it costs a lot more. Once you've got your framework sorted out, then it's just a matter of stretching a fabric over it. Securing it would probably either require guy lines, or some kind of heavy-duty steel plate base that's welded to that post (but that'll severely hamper transportability).

Good luck!

[maladroit]

Internal frame + cloth exterior seems pretty good. A strong tubing frame with thinner flat strips of metal to round out the shape.

Specifically for rigging to the ground, you could have a vertical frame running all the way through the vena cava, maybe triangular with three main posts and some internal bracing, like an antenna tower. Each post could have a flat plate on the bottom with a few holes for lag screws. I don't know if anyone's really tested the limits of multiple lag screws in a small area, but I'd feel pretty confident even with just three 18" lag screws spaced on a 12 to 18 inch triangle.

If supporting it just through the inferior vena cava isn't enough, you could add an unobtrusive support post below the left ventricle.

[Ratty]

Sorry, I sew. Everything looks like fleece and stuffing to me. It has a nice look. Please post some follow up pictures later and tell us how it went. Good luck.

[Red Eco]

Thanks all - very helpful.