Scott Skinner has been a dedicated kitemaker, flier, collector, teacher, and philanthropist of the sport with the Drachen Foundation in Seattle for three decades, but in recent years he has concentrated on a new aspect of kiting. He has more and more dedicated himself to creating art kites -- kites emphasizing beauty and originality. Scott began this process of making art kites with the inspiration to marry traditional American quilt designs with Japanese kite shapes and motifs. He has gone on from there.
Having taken up kites in 1976 after leaving the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he was a pilot instructor, he started collecting from the start and soon began crafting kites as well. “Having studied kites, I knew what images were lasting -- geometric ones. I became a student of traditional American patchwork quilts. My collection of books on the subject grew to a meter high. There was always a detail in a quilt that could be exploited for kitemaking, as an example, a wave detail.”
“I learned to focus on a simple image. But within that image a lot would be going on. For instance, if I wanted the color blue, I might render it in four shades. When flying, the tones would merge into one color. But the level of detail makes a contribution at a great distance. You might not be able to see it but it’s there. For example, if a flying kite is backlit, that produces one look. If light strikes the face of the kite and is reflected, that is another.
“What’s an art kite anyway? It’s a personal statement. I’m completely at ease if I’m the sole person to appreciate the kite; if others like it too, I’m thrilled. But I’m the first judge and the most critical one.”
Early on, Scott collected and flew large, colorful geometric kites by Reza Rageb, who ran a kite shop near Scott’s home. “He exploited a crossover market that was just starting. His kites were made to fly well, and the best of them were certainly art kites as well. He set me an example. Like Reza’s, all of my kites must fly decently. I’m not picky on this score. My real focus is always on the esthetics, the art.”
From the beginning, Scott used modern materials such as ripstop. With its very limited palette, this fabric enabled him to explore layering and use multiple shades of single colors. At one point he turned to bamboo and paper kites in the Japanese tradition, using handmade paper (washi to the Japanese). As well as studying kites through many trips to far corners of the globe, Scott has done extensive studies on folk papermaking.
How many kites has he made all told? “Maybe a couple of hundred. Some were given to museums, some traded, some donated to festival fund raisers. They’re out there. I’ve not sold a single one.”
This means Scott has lots of old timers available. “I like to look into my stash every now and then and find kites that haven’t seen the light of day for years, pull them out, fly them. I’m recycling them. It’s putting an old friend up in the sky again. I fly them for a year or so and then put them back for a rest.”
A painstaking craftsman, it takes Scott a couple of months to do a big kite. “Winter is the time for kitemaking for me here in Monument, Colorado, where I live. The weather is crummy and I don’t travel much at that time. If I can make one of my ripstop kites and a few bamboo and paper ones, that’s a good season for me. I’m not prolific.”
Skinner has done two intensive collaborations with American fine artists, one with Lesley Dill during which a distorted, powerful male image was explored in a series of variations and one with artist Susan Robb during which the cyanotype process was exploited. In this technique, an object -- say, a large leaf -- is placed on top of photo sensitive paper and exposed to the sun. Developed like a photograph, the object shows up as a negative image. If it is quite thin to begin with, as a leaf might be, then the veining shows up. The detail can be amazing. Backed and framed, lovely ecological kites result.
Scott’s work has been seen and admired over the years at kite festivals around the world. He has also exhibited widely and his work has been reproduced in magazines and books. His admirers include some of the best kitemakers. His global influence is obvious to those acquainted with the field.
Two inevitable questions arise. Which are the leading kitemaking countries of the world and who are the very best makers of art kites? In Scott’s view, Japan without question leads in both. “Their painting technique is a wonder, paper craft work meticulous. In the end, their kites are spectacular.” He singles out Nobuhiko Yoshizumi as one “who has gone to a new level. It was almost traumatic for him to break away from the traditional Japanese esthetic. He has all the skills, does really exciting and different kites.” Mikio Toki, on the other hand, he praises for working hard to maintain the traditional kites of Tokyo. “I’m biased. A lot of Japanese kites are untouchable,” says Scott. “Making them requires great skill: the bending of the bamboo, the delicate balance, the final look. They have to fly well. And if equipped with a hummer, they have to sound well, too. The small Japanese cicada may be my all-time favorite art kite.”
China he cites for its tremendous variety. Of particular note are its three-dimensional kites -- the ubiquitous flying dragons, for example. “My own favorite maker is Chen Zhao Ji of Xian who makes mechanical kites able to move in up to nine ways simultaneously -- dragon’s eyes blinking, mouth opening and closing, ears flapping, whiskers twitching. For traditional kites, the Kong and Ha families of Beijing are notable.”
In Bali there are three traditional models to be viewed at any festival. “But when the Balinese improvise, they come up with creations you can hardly believe -- flying tanks and ships, that sort of thing.”
“Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia have so many masters it is hard to know all the names. There is no chance of kite traditions being lost in those countries.”
“Guatemala uses an unusual kitemaking technique -- layering,” he comments. “Great craftsmanship is seen in the really giant kites up to 40 feet wide created and flown there. Kites are flown ritually but are used also for a political purpose. The downtrodden Mayans put revolutionary messages on them addressed to the dominant Latinos to make the point they, the Indians, are talented people too and need a stronger political voice.
“In the Indian subcontinent, the art is in the flying of their little fighters,” notes Scott. “They’re functional, different from other art kites. But this differing definition of what constitutes art kites -- beauty of flight rather than the kite itself -- is a legitimate one, I feel.”
“In the West, the best artists as kitemakers might include Americans Tal Streeter, who has been very influential with his kites and books, and George Peters, Austrian Anna Rubin, Australian Robert Brasington, and Canadian Robert Trepanier. France has Pierre Fabre and Claude Lea Camallonga. Istvan Bodoczky of Hungary and Curt Asker, a Swede living in France, are trailblazers; Asker’s X Marks the Spot kite stays with you. It is a strong and unexpected image, makes you do a double take. Jose Sainz of the U.S. brings an interesting Spanish esthetic to the field. Peter Lynn of New Zealand is one of the more artistic people out there. He usually picks a shape reminiscent of a traditional kite to make his big festival kites. He may not admit it but he’s an artist.”
The current kitemaking scene is an exciting one, in Scott’s view. “People with real skill in the arts are coming to the sport and making new, dynamic kites. This collaboration is a great way to expose kites to the public, to a wider audience. And it’s a great teaching technique. It’s a doorway to making political, ecological and other useful statements.”
Biography by: Ben Ruhe
Website by: Katie’s Projects
