Spread Eagle

It was the chance to become one with a sculpture that symbolizes 'transcendance, freedom and the pursuit of happiness,' as part of the American Dream.

This giant pair of revolving eagles wings was a fitting and very popular exhibit at the Maker Faire 2009 with its theme of Remake: America - see previous blogs.

Balancing inside the steel ring was harder than it look. At first, people wobbled, feet poised on a small plinth at the base of a steel ring, arms outstretched.
But then they were off, to spin with wings as of eagles.

At the head of the queue awaiting her turn was Linda, pictured in the second pic.

'I think the Faire is wonderful. This is my second year of coming and it's a wonderful variety of amazing, creative things to do!' she said, before climbing inside the ring.

Over the day, thousands watched in amusement and took pics.

The Spread Eagle, with a 30 ft wingspan, is the work of Bay Area sculptor Bryan Tedrick who lives in Sonoma, Northern California.

He received an honorarium to build it for last year's Burning Man radical arts festival at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, where the theme was the American Dream. It is built primarily of steel with redwood and found objects.

A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Bryan writes on his website: 'Art is a vehicle of expression, a means of encoding our response to the world. I hope my audience appreciates my serious folly, my love of nature and beauty, and enjoys my effort to flirt with the mystery of life.'
www.bryantedrick.com