The Flying Scott
Overview
This sculpture is a memorial in honor of Tom Scott, Founder of the Shell Lake Sailing Club, passionate sailing advocate and avid volunteer who dearly loved Shell Lake. It represents Tom's own Flying Scot, a boat that he sailed across these waters for decades. Why a memorial? We memorialize to publicly recognize something we would like to carry into our own lives. Tom was driven to bring people together. That spirit made him much loved.
Sculpture Design
A sailboat cruises freely above waves. Sweeping forms, and the dramatic scale (10‘ long x 20’ high and 1,005 lb) make it an iconic symbol of our lake and it's sailing culture.
The sails are steel tubes, finished with welded steel textures and a copper plate on the mast and boom. The hull is made of heavy steel bars welded onto a tubular frame, and finished with a combination of copper oxide patinas- a reference to Tom's blue boat. The base is a brilliant blue done in steel tubing and textured steel plate with a metal stain finish. 40,000 feet of weldinig wire was used in this project. .
It is my largest to date- a 20' abstract sailboat weighing 1005 lb. It will be installed on Hwy 63 in Shell Lake's City Park on Mon May 5.
Installation Day
A Community Project
I designed and built the sculpture, the Shell Lake Sailing Club funded the materials and expenses, and it will be gifted to the City of Shell Lake. I had help from many people; notably members of the Shell Lake Sailing Club and the Shell Lake Public Works staff. The sail tubes were rolled by North 40 Steel in Spooner, and the mast and hull were blasted with recycled glass by Tyler's Custom Surface Prep in Rice Lake.