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Home > Weathervanes > Weather Vane Education > Styles |
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Not All Weathervanes Are Created Equal This article first appeared in the magazine Traditional Building.
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Ferro Weathervanes
29 Buttonwood Street
Bristol, RI 02809
Phone: 401-396-9280
Fax: 401-396-9282
Email: Wvanes@peoplepc.com
Copyright
2004 Ferro Weathervanes All Rights Reserved.
No portion of this web site may be reproduced without
express written permission.
Weathervanes are available in silhouette, swell-bodied,
and full-bodied styles. A silhouette vane is an outline of a design cut from any piece of
flat, rigid material. It can also be cut into abstract shapes to become a banneret. The
advantage of this style of weathervane is that great detail is portrayed for minimal
expense. Silhouettes have recently become popular as garden accents. For example, a
verdigris copper Watering Can weathervane is at home revolving over a bed of wildflowers.
Swell-bodied
figures are the most common and moderately priced. The two-sided figures have some body
but are not fully three-dimensional, and they can range in thickness from 1/4 round to 3/4
round. Only 1/2 in. at their thickest point, cast-aluminum vanes often have 1/4-round
figures and display superior detailing. Most machine-pressed copper figures and many
handmade vanes have 1/2- to 3/4-round figures. Raising the detail on each side of a figure
to portray the subject's profile creates the design.
Full-bodied
figures portray a subject three dimensionally. The figure may be simple and true to the
subject's form, but the most striking are highly detailed figures - they are sculptures in
the sky. Copper is the most popular choice for composing the several parts required.
Bringing such figures to life requires much time and effort, and the price will reflect
this.