Walking by Kinetic Art in Boynton Beach

An outdoor art fair that is free? Count me among the visitors to Boynton Beach.

I also wanted to see for myself what the International Kinetic Art Exhibit was after previewing the event for The Coastal Star. I came away impressed with the ingenuity of the artists who were thrilled with their artworks.

Friday evening was an invitation-only reception where I met artist Debbie Lee Mostel and her "Globes." Each globe had a door that opened to reveal a scene inside -- often made of her son's toys. She created the tableaus because she likes surprises.

Debbie Lee Mostel shows how the doors work on her "Globes."

Texas artist Adela Andea created "Lumens and Candelas," a commissioned work that was suspended from the ceiling of the exhibition tent. She used flex neon lights, Fresnel lenses, LED fans and Plexiglas to create the 24-foot-long by 8-foot-wide artwork.

"Lumens and Candelas" by Adela Andea

Artist Adela Andea (center) with Debby Coles-Dobay who as
public art manager for Boynton Beach commissioned the artwork.

Meet me at the tree

Artist Elayna Toby of Palm Springs came up with the idea to adorn the city's kapok tree with Kinetic-Connections, created in workshops. Friday evening, the kapok looked smashing.

Toby was thrilled at how well her idea turned out. She even had a Selfie Station nearby that played a continuous loop of participants explaining why they chose certain items for their section of a 16-foot strand.

Sunday, Toby spoke about one Selfie that she found touching. A young man worked on two sections, one for himself and one for his dad. He selected keys to signify his first home and that of his father, next he chose a metal stamp to symbolize the strength of his dad whose colon cancer was in remission. As he said this, he choked up on the video. Likewise, Toby had to catch her breath when she spoke about the Selfie under the kapok tree.

Artist Elayna Toby discusses her "Kinetic Connections" work

Each strand could be purchased for $150.

Other pieces of eye-candy

"Lyric" by Lynn Emery is made of stainless steel and
aluminum as its widespread arms seem to be dancing
when moved by the wind.

This contraption just had the last cable added a few days ago, said its operator.
His brother built the slow-moving machine. 

"Feng Shui" was installed by Polish sculptor Jerzy Kedziora 
whose sculptures are on display at the Ann Norton Sculpture
Gardens in West Palm Beach. This piece had a small sign
saying it was "sold."

All told, I spent two hours strolling along Ocean Avenue, going in and out of various civic buildings and adding 1 mile or 2,040 steps to my daily total -- not marathon speed, but more of a leisurely pace.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015 when I walked:

Steps: 13,829

Miles: 6.9