WIND FIRE

Stands an 18 foot tall kinetic sculpture created by artist Russell “Rusty” Burgardt. The stainless steel sculpture features a 10 foot tall base, and 8 foot tall mobile flames mounted to the top. These flames spin freely in the Kansas wind and the stainless steel body reflects the sunlight and surrounding buildings beautifully. This unique piece was completed in 2013 and mounted to a brick base.

Copy artist description from prairie thunder

Rusty began creating drafts for the sculpture sometime in 2011. In some of the first drafts, the base of the sculpture was supposed to be taller than the flames, however, a design change would soon follow where the two are nearly equal heights. The entire sculpture is made out of polished stainless steel sheets which prevent rust entirely on their own. This has allowed for the sculpture to continue spinning freely for nearly 14 years as of 2025. The flames were constructed out of 3 sheets of stainless steel welded together. The base of the flames was left open for a ball bearing to fit through allowing each one to spin on their own. Finally, the flames were attached to a pentagon shaped base, which again differed from the original concept’s circular base.