BEST BREEZES: Kites and Kite History

Webb Taylor of Portsmouth Virginia is an accomplished kite maker of small kites that are really creative and interesting.

Coming from a background in aeronautics, the retired Mr. Taylor took up the making of small kites as a hobby. Webb has crafted some terrific small kites as he progresses in skill with this type of kite making.

Webb's work with kites and photos of his kites are found in a HamptonRoads.com on-line newspaper article by Cindy Clayton published in The Virginian-Pilot on July 11, 2010. The article is entitled "Hooked on Kite Making". The excellent photos that accoompany the article are by Steve Early of The Virginian-Pilot.

I found the article to be interesting for several reasons:

Webb's kite designs are truly high quality small kites.
Good photos of some of the steps that Webb uses to fashion his kites (these photos could be a guide to anyone wanting to get started in this type of kite making).
A description of the type of bamboo that he uses for the framing materials (Webb splits ordinary bamboo food skewers to get the thin bendable strips of bamboo necessary for this type of kite construction).
The article is more in depth than most standard newspaper articles about kites.

Journalist Cindy Clayton has done a great job in covering this story and showing the fine craftsmanship of Webb Taylor.

Perhaps this article about Webb Taylor's kite making will encourage you to start some kite making on a smaller scale.

For Additional Reading:

One of the finest miniature kite makers is Glenn Davison, a New England kite artist of world renown from Massachusetts. Glenn's web site, miniaturekitingusa.com, includes galleries of his amazing kites, plans and building tips to get you started or raise your skill with this fascinating aspect of kite building.