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Medio's Kites: second part

Finding him was easy. You would usually see him in his workshop, that was his own garage, during the making process of some kites. Otherwise it was possible to spot him in the nearest park, where he was to test his kites.

These kites made him famous amongst kite-makers across the world. Often he was called to preside kite-festivals in different European and Asian towns.
Many people around the world still remember him as traditional genius of the kite making art.
“Nemo profeta in patria”, Unfortunately is usually the case, his name and value was better known outside his own town.
With elegance and sensitivity, Primo ended the article about the peaceful Medio saying “he was an international artist of kites”. This article is part of a manual on kite-making for children and teachers, recently distributed in the schools of Ravenna.

In his own garage you were to find a lot of objects together in a mysterious mess around tables. Some of them were related with Medio’s past job as an upholsterer. From this job he kept alive the use of different suitable glues for different kite-making purposes. Only a few new and old kites were standing on some shelves, all the others were, and still are now, kept in some museums around the world.
All of them were donated by Medio with extreme generosity or given to many children and friends. Like all good makers of toys built with natural materials, he knew well where and when to pick up the needed resources, such as reeds from rivers or marshes.
G oing in the right place, in the right season, moving from one to another corner of the town to get the proper light and sufficiently strong paper and strings. After that, there was the time to store, dry and select materials before he cut and put them into shape by knots and the use of hemp or jute bits of strings.
With the help of the flame of a little stove he was warming up materials, obtaining rounded and bended shapes for his sticks, building with carefully balanced tension incredible supportive nets.
Through this knowledge, he distinguished himself amongst the others, becoming notable for the outline of his objects. All of them always elegant and graceful like sculptures in the air, fluctuating as dancers despite the complexity of the object.
In his field he was a genius, giving to his creations innovative and unique characteristics, still keeping traditional techniques and simplicity as a basis to build upon.
This was something that made him famous as a master, a well skilled practitioner in this particular and popular art.
With intuition he was capable to complete aerodynamic tasks and to find the suitable streamline for the objects he wanted to fly.

The Poet of Comets started his journey as kite-maker during his childhood, after he was amazed by looking at the flight of a butterfly. From that moment to his end he never stopped making kites.
Dressed in his own homemade waistcoat, with his white-hair and old fashioned spectacles perched on the tip of his nose, he looked like another Geppetto (the Pinocchio’s father) that worked to merely make children happier.
Dressed in his own homemade waistcoat, with his white-hair and old fashioned spectacles perched on the tip of his nose, he looked like another Geppetto (the Pinocchio’s father) that worked to merely make children happier.

A really big thank you to Primo Fornaciari for his tips, information and pictures.

Ciao Medio!

For further information see the current website pages: Scuola Creativa - Guide Dada - Cerdomus - Kitelife - Settimo cielo Aquilonisti

 

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