Spoon Art Sculpture

A couple of years ago, Collins Abinoro was driven by his quest to do something different in metal construction. Today, he has achieved one of his goals through his Spoon-Art Sculpture. Read the inspiring article below 

Collins Abinoro is an artist who specialises in sculptures. His other works includes spoon and metal sculptures, resin cast, concrete, bronze sculptures, clay and drawings. Collins’ art is determined by inspiration, and he always creates art to his client’s specification.

The idea of spoon sculpture started while Collins was in his final year in the higher institution. In his words “I was on a quest to do something different in metal construction.”  His first piece was a coursework made with about fifteen dozen spoons, the success of which motivated him to do more spoon sculpture.

Collins emphasized that he had not been taught the art of Spoon sculpture, but it had been his ingenious creation, his self-devised style in metal art.

When asked how the inspiration came about, in his words, he said “in the course of being inspired to do something different, I was inspired by an animated photograph of a chicken that had been constructed from egg shells. When I saw the picture, the first thing that came to my mind was spoons!  I went out sourcing for pieces of discarded spoons and later bought some to add to what I had been able to find. After the success of my first sculpture, I established the art of using spoon as a medium in metal sculpture. My love for birds made me research on birds and how to create them. I take every piece as a major project and treat it with all  seriousness.”

Collins went ahead to intimate on how the spoon-art sculpture is created. He said “usually, I create a metal framework, after which the spoons are meticulously welded on it. I also manipulate the spoons to suite the form I want to achieve. The spoon can be twisted or heated into any form depending on what I want. I work with different kinds of spoons – light   and thick ones with different designs. Presently, I’m able to use over four thousand spoons for a single design!  I look back and see how I moved from using fifteen dozen spoons to over four hundred dozens!”

Over time, Mr Abinoro has been mastered the art of using the character and behavioral nature of birds to mirror human thematic areas such as love,  passion and  politics.

Collins was born in Agbarho in Delta state and grew up in a large family. He had rough experiences as every average Nigerian child, and at a point in college, he had to pay his tuition by selling portraits and graphic designs.  Collins said, “I never regret anything, no matter what experience it is, because all my experiences have collectively moulded me into the man I am today.”

When asked about his parents’ initial reaction to his profession, Collins said his dad never supported the idea. In his words, “my dad wanted me to major in a science-oriented profession, so that I could probably work in an oil company, but that is not who I am. As time went by though, my dad accepted my decision to major in art after a talk from a friend of his who made him see the enormous prospect in art.  My mum has always supported me, and now, even more. Generally, my family loves what I do.”

This young talent reveals the joy of being given opportunities to travel to other countries and the positive reactions he receives from his fans. In his words, “although I was driven into art by a financial quest, art is all I have always loved to do. Passion came first and then money, because no matter how you look at it, every gift should be able to generate money in the life of the gifted.”

At the moment, his work is showcased in several galleries, one of which is called Thought Pyramid. He also receives orders across social media platforms, such as Facebook and instagram. Collins revealed that despite the fact that he has been a full time studio artist since he graduated …. years ago, his art has been paying the bills.

When asked if there were any obstacles facing his art, he responded thus: “Sure,  the state of the economy affects my art like any other profession, but I believe that as long as people still build houses hotels, offices and private collectors still exist; art will still sell. Also, I showcase my art internationally for foreign art lovers. As long as one is honest and truthful in business, you’ll always make progress.”

Collins dream is to become a global icon, impact lives and add value to humanity.

THE PREACHERS WHO HAVE THEIR PULPIT IN THE SKY

 

Imagine sitting at the beach, pool or an outdoor event and watching a plane writing in the sky. It is captivating as it leaves you trying to guess what the words are going to say while waiting for the plane to be finished. This was the case at Orlando Florida when the words Trust Jesus. God Forgives. Ask was written in the sky by Two Pilots from a local church in Florida who resoluted to take the gospel to the sky as a form of outreach. This Sky-writings was done with a crop duster plane which carries specialized smoke-emitting systems and stores smoke-producing fluid which moves into the exhaust.

The fluid sits in a reservoir near the engine, and a plane can typically carry about 30 gallons (114 liters), enough to write up to 12 letters. When the pilot decides it’s time, he or she flips a switch in the cockpit, and the reservoir injects a stream of paraffin oil into the plane’s exhaust system. As the fluid hits the exhaust pipes, it vaporizes, pouring from the exhaust outlets at the front and back of the plane. To vaporize the paraffin oil, the engine has to reach 1500 degrees Fahrenheit (816 C) . That’s part of why skywriting planes need a lot of horsepower: In the cold of 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) up, producing that much heat takes a lot of power

The smoke begins as a paraffin-based mineral oil, sometimes called paraffin oil or liquid paraffin. The fluid is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

As a lady, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the sky writings was how exciting it would be to get proposed to with the words “will you marry me?” in the sky.

Pilots Jerry Stevens and Keith Poeschl deliver their messages from a bright-yellow crop duster popularly called “Holy Smoke” with the sky as their pulpit. The messages, written at 10,000 feet, can be seen 35 miles away on a clear day.

Stevens, a retired aviator who initiated the skywriting ministry about 12 years ago when he lived in Boca Raton expressed that the messages are God’s love letters to his children. He also stated that God is the one strategically putting those messages there and that he and his co-pilot prefer to stay out of the limelight.

Steven, a retired corporate pilot revealed that the idea for God’s messages in the sky came to him after a deep prayer for God to use him.

Stevens relocated permanently to Central Florida so he could spend more time there skywriting.

For several years, Stevens was the only one scribbling God’s messages with the cropduster. But after moving to Orlando two years ago, he called an aviation school in Georgia, which put him in touch with Poeschl, a recent graduate. The two men spoke over the phone and immediately connected. They shared a love of piety and planes.

Poeschl had attended Bible school for three semesters before deciding to enroll in aviation school.

Poeschl lives in Fort Lauderdale, where he is working on fine-tuning his skywriting skills, usually spending more than an hour in the sky, two or three times a week.

It’s not an easy task maneuvering the Holy Smoke to make the letters that are three-quarters of a mile long. Each twist and turn at 120 mph must be timed precisely but both pilots believe that nothing is too difficult with God.

This skywriting project gets majority of its funding from Don Campion, president of Banyan Air Service, who allows the Holy Smoke (Crop Duster) to stay parked at the company’s hangar at Fort Lauderdale Executive air port. The company also assists with the fuel cost which can get pricey with an average trip requiring 51 gallons of fuel.

Campion, who has a company chaplain on hand for his employees and sponsors projects like the construction of ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) Hospital Egbe in Kogi State,  Nigeria said he has experienced how the messages have changed the lives of others.

He met a couple who had been on the verge of divorcing, they took a break at their attorney’s office, stepped outside and looked up.

There in the sky they saw the words ‘Jesus Forgives,’ they took it as a literal sign, and they both decided to forgive each other.

“God put that message strategically there,” Stevens said. “That had nothing to do with me or Keith. Do you think that we knew that at 2 p.m. on such and such date, over this location, this couple was going to be at their attorney’s office getting a divorce? What if they would have never stepped out for a break? Those are the things we have no control over.

Both pilots insist that the focus should be on the message and not on them.

There are now two cities in Florida where the holy smoke messages are displayed. One is stationed in Fort Lauderdale and the other is in Boca Raton.

A 20-year Old guy was diagnosed with cancer, when he and his family first got the news, they were devastated. The very next day, his father was outside and looked up to the sky and saw ‘Jesus Loves You.’ he broke down crying. For that moment he felt some comfort.

Stevens and Poeschl haven’t only received positive feedback, there are also negative response from viewers. Stevens has received complaints from people who argue that he is trying to force his religious views upon people.

More Facts about Sky Writing

• Most sources attribute the development of skywriting (1922) to John C. Savage, an Englishman. In that year, Captain Cyril Turner wrote “Daily Mail” over England and “Hello USA” over New York. The American Tobacco Co. then picked up the technique for their Lucky Strike cigarettes.
• The first skywriting for advertising was in 1922.
• April 8, 1924, Savage received a patent for “Method of producing advertising signs of smoke in the air” (US Patent 1,489,717).
• A letter can be as high as one mile and take 60-90 seconds to create.
• A message can stretch up to fifteen miles.
• The best conditions of course are few clouds (clear sky), little or no wind, and cooler temperatures. Then the letters may be seen for 30 miles in any direction and can last 20 minutes.
• Writing occurs usually at altitudes from 7,000-17,000 ft.
• The paraffin oil vaporizes at 1500° in the heat of the plane’s exhaust and is environmentally safe.
• The skywriting that appeared in the movie, “Wizard of Oz,” was done by special effects in a tank with an oil and water mixture.
• One company in New York “writes” more than 50 marriage proposals a year in the sky.

WORLD’S LARGEST BILL BOARD IN THE SKY

The sky is truly the limit as advertising employs it (the sky) as one of its platform in form of skywriting. Skywriting is the process of using an aircraft  able to expel special smoke during flight to fly in certain patterns to create writing that can be readable by someone on the ground. It is an advertisement aimed at everyone in the vicinity and requires a lot of experience and practice to create these skywriting signs

It is a technique whereby smoke is discharged in a series of bursts, like dots. A computer generates the master plan and electronic signals control the smoke output. The blurring of the smoke makes the desired end effect.

It has a WOW factor effect on its audience after each advert, considering that each advert is 5 miles long and visible up to a 15 mile radius. With no winds, skywriting is visible until the earth rotates away from the writing, about an hour. When the wind is strong, visibility of the skywriting can vary from seconds to 5-10 minutes. Sky-typing requires up to 25 characters per sky advertisement.

 Sky typing is captivating, offers excellent recall and easily targeted to places of large gathering or outdoor events. It is often targeted at places like Stadium, Beaches, Concerts, Sporting Events etc.

This phase of advertising started in 1932 by the Skywriting Corporation of America. One of the first major clients was Pepsi-Cola, which used skywriting to reach a mass market. It also requires up to 25 characters per sky advertisement and each character is completed in less than 4 seconds.

The word “PEPSI” requires 14 separate smoke triggers by the pilot. It is all about judgment and timing; the slightest hesitation can ruin a letter, and all is lost.

In terms of reaching out to a larger audience, Sky typing has triumphed over the print, radio, television and even the Internet and in terms of capturing audience attention from up to 7 to 10 minutes. Sky-typing advertising keeps the audience attentions while they are taking videos and pictures, sharing the messages on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. This will also pave way for discussions on the social media.

Sky-typing is literally 1,000 times larger than a roadside billboard, and it can be strategically placed over the specific demographic area or desired event. The advertiser is guaranteed millions of captive onlookers.

Sky writing exists in two forms; Traditional Sky-writing and Digital Skywriting.

Traditional/ single Airplane Skywriting: Accomplished with a single airplane flying through the sky to form letters. The white smoke is emitted like writing across the sky is composed of a special combination of oils, which is emitted through the plane’s exhaust system. The average skywriting message can be up to eight characters long.

Digital Skywriting – Accomplished with five airplanes, they fly parallel in line in as perfect unison as possible. The skywriting message to be written is loaded onto a computer, and as the planes flies, electronic signals trigger the smoke-emission mechanism in each plane to release the smoke accordingly. Digital Skywriting is executed by a number of planes that coordinate to print different segments of the message. Every five seconds new letters are finished. The average message is up to thirty (30) characters long and can stretch four to six miles long.

The letters are made up of individual dots that blend together at a distance. Emitting the dots is entirely automated. A message is loaded into a computer that controls the smoke-emitting machinery in each plane. The program tracks the locations of every plane as they fly. Whenever a plane reaches a point where a dot should be placed, the computer triggers a burst of smoke from that plane. Though digital skywriting requires less piloting skill than manual skywriting, though it is more expensive fueling up five planes because it costs more than fueling one, the advantage is that it allows for more characters, most times up to 30 characters.

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