Beach Propellers Worldwide
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The world wants to see the beach propellers you make and play on! Share your pics and videos by email, or use #beachpropellers on Instagram. If you choose to follow @beachpropellers on Instagram that will also help spread the news and help get more folks sending in pics and video! Get the simple, printable, pdf diagram showing how to make beach propellers.
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Click to see a short video with highlights from a Beach Propeller Gathering.
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Five most-recent #beachpropeller posts on the @beachpropellers instagram feed:
WHAT ARE BEACH PROPELLERS, HOW CAN YOU MAKE THEM, AND HOW CAN YOU USE THEM?
SEE THIS 2-MINUTE VIDEO:
SEE THIS 2-MINUTE VIDEO:
WHY:
Making, seeing, and moving on a beach propeller evokes a feeling of wonder and appreciation in me, and in others who have tried it out. I'm hoping many other people will make and use beach propellers, and will have wonderful feelings on the beach. This project is part of my socially engaged environmental art practice, aiming to connect people with the natural world and each other. I've enjoyed improvising new shapes and games with people I've met while "propellering."
GEOMETRY AND PHYSICS THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW:
I wondered if this shape had a name, and what was its nature? I knew about the hexafoil or "flower of life," which has 6 blades with sharp tips. I learned about the trefoil, trefoil knot, triquetra, and trillium flowers. Finally, I delved into some mathematical approaches, and found this (click to play the video):
Making, seeing, and moving on a beach propeller evokes a feeling of wonder and appreciation in me, and in others who have tried it out. I'm hoping many other people will make and use beach propellers, and will have wonderful feelings on the beach. This project is part of my socially engaged environmental art practice, aiming to connect people with the natural world and each other. I've enjoyed improvising new shapes and games with people I've met while "propellering."
GEOMETRY AND PHYSICS THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW:
I wondered if this shape had a name, and what was its nature? I knew about the hexafoil or "flower of life," which has 6 blades with sharp tips. I learned about the trefoil, trefoil knot, triquetra, and trillium flowers. Finally, I delved into some mathematical approaches, and found this (click to play the video):
This is a parametric curve, defined by two equations. As time (t) progresses, the x and y coordinates are given by: x=sin(t)+sin(2t) and y=cos(t)-cos(2t). I don't know if this is the exact shape of the sand propeller my body/mind instinctively makes. It would be nice to have an aerial photo of a sand propeller and check to see if this is true. This shape has some surprising properties. One interesting thing you can see in the animation above is that the mover slows down for the sharper curves and speeds up for the straighter sections. This is the same as what our bodies do. If the math of this interests you, you can download the excel simulation I made.
The simulation I made includes some calculations about the "radius of curvature." You can see that the path is most curved at the tips, and least curved at the center. Radius of curvature is a way to describe this. Surprisingly, the radius of curvature at the tips is exactly 1/10 of the length of the propeller "blade," and at the center the radius of curvature is exactly 1.5 times the blade length.
Maybe you are wondering about banked curves? You don't have to run to enjoy a beach propeller. But if you do run, your body knows exactly how much to lean in on the curves. Even though you go slower at the tips of the propeller, that is still where the degree of banking (leaning) is the most. I hope someone will do the physics, make a graph of the banking angle, and send that to me.
Maybe you are wondering about banked curves? You don't have to run to enjoy a beach propeller. But if you do run, your body knows exactly how much to lean in on the curves. Even though you go slower at the tips of the propeller, that is still where the degree of banking (leaning) is the most. I hope someone will do the physics, make a graph of the banking angle, and send that to me.
WHAT ELSE?
What would other shapes feel like to move on, alone or along with others? What about using a beach bicycle or unicycle, a beach wheelchair, or another mobility device ? What about walking, crawling, scooting, or rolling in the sand, or just being still? What about other shapes? The "peace sign" version lets you switch from the three-blade path to the vertical "infinity path," and after you do that, you can chose one of two ways to go back into the three-blade path, and end up orbiting in a different direction if you want. The six-bladed version lets you move freely between two different three-bladed paths and three different infinity paths. What if you connect a few propellers at the edges or by straight lines or curves? What if you make random shapes and follow your own path(s)?
ORIGINS:
In 2021 I was running and dancing in random curves and loops on the flat tidal sand of small beach, and enjoying the sight of the looping path of my footprints. Then I started running in a small circle; then some tangent circles; then a figure "8" with two circles. This led to making and running on an infinity sign. And then the shape of the beach propeller popped into my body/mind.
It felt very natural to run this shape, accelerating in the straighter sections, and then slowing down and leaning into the sharper curves at the tips. My feet created "banked turns", carving into the sand.
I decided to call this shape a beach propeller to describe the shape and also evoke the feeling of propulsion that comes when you move on one.
What would other shapes feel like to move on, alone or along with others? What about using a beach bicycle or unicycle, a beach wheelchair, or another mobility device ? What about walking, crawling, scooting, or rolling in the sand, or just being still? What about other shapes? The "peace sign" version lets you switch from the three-blade path to the vertical "infinity path," and after you do that, you can chose one of two ways to go back into the three-blade path, and end up orbiting in a different direction if you want. The six-bladed version lets you move freely between two different three-bladed paths and three different infinity paths. What if you connect a few propellers at the edges or by straight lines or curves? What if you make random shapes and follow your own path(s)?
ORIGINS:
In 2021 I was running and dancing in random curves and loops on the flat tidal sand of small beach, and enjoying the sight of the looping path of my footprints. Then I started running in a small circle; then some tangent circles; then a figure "8" with two circles. This led to making and running on an infinity sign. And then the shape of the beach propeller popped into my body/mind.
It felt very natural to run this shape, accelerating in the straighter sections, and then slowing down and leaning into the sharper curves at the tips. My feet created "banked turns", carving into the sand.
I decided to call this shape a beach propeller to describe the shape and also evoke the feeling of propulsion that comes when you move on one.
Share your pics and videos by email, or use the tag #beachpropellers on Instagram.
You can also join my email list to stay in touch.
You can also join my email list to stay in touch.