Photo by Lucie Monk
Marshall Harris, flying one of his hand-made diamond Malay kites—named “Night and Day”—has been making and flying kites since he was a young boy.
Marshall Harris, a.k.a. “The Kite Doctor,” has been making and flying kites for over fifty years
When I reached out to Marshall Harris about making and flying kites, he simply said, “I can always talk about kites.” Harris, seventy-three and a resident of Prairieville, Louisiana, has been unwaveringly enthusiastic about kites for more than fifty years.
At the tender age of seven or eight, Harris remembers his bedridden uncle giving him his first kite; his uncle had made it from a coat hanger and some fabric to pass the time. But try as he might, running back and forth across a steep hill on his family’s land, Harris could not get the kite to fly.
“I never did tell him it wouldn’t fly. I knew he’d worked hard on it,” said Harris.
Knowing how deep Harris subsequently delved into making and flying kites, it is fair to say that the rest of his life was spent trying to make that first kite fly.
Harris’ parents taught him and his brother to make and fly their own kites as children to keep them busy; but as they grew, the boys traded kite-flying for chasing girls and riding bikes. The spark for kiting still smoldered in Harris’ heart, though, and he once again felt the tug of the strings when he became a father. “I wanted to share the thrill of flying kites with my children,” he said. Though his children did not inherit the kiting gene quite as prominently as their dad, Harris’ love for kiting was rekindled and has been burning steadily ever since.
Today, it’s not enough to say that Marshall Harris has a kiting hobby. It’s more appropriate to say he has a deep-rooted passion for it. Over the years, Harris has made and designed more than fifty kites. He won’t sell them, but he does say that he’ll donate one on occasion for fundraising.
“He eats, breathes, and dreams kites,” said Sharon Stam, executive director of the West Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, of Harris. Stam sought out Harris’ help in starting the first-ever Kite Fest Louisiane, held every April at the West Baton Rouge Soccer Complex in Port Allen. The festival is now in its tenth year.
After serving in 1990 as a founding member and the first president of the Crescent City Kite Fliers in New Orleans, Harris continued honing his craft and teaching others the art of kite making and flying. Over the years, Harris and his wife of twenty-eight years, Sandra, have traveled the region displaying his kites and giving demonstrations on making and flying kites at schools and museums. Several of Harris’ kites are on display at the West Baton Rouge Tourism Center. “Sandra and I love to teach kids the art of kite making and flying safety,” said Harris.
Left: Marshall Harris (a.k.a. "The Kite Doctor") stands with "Her Master's Kite," a kite he designed, painted, and will fly at this year's Kite Fest Louisiane.
Making Magic
Harris is happy to share kite-making fundamentals at workshops and demonstrations, so he was more than willing to share the basic process for this article. Before making each kite, Harris first looks for inspiration—from designs he’s seen in books or online or even pulled from his environment, his personal interests, or to celebrate special occasions—then he modifies them as his own. Usually, it’s a particular design that he has mentally matched to a certain kite shape. Even though the most recognizable shape for kites is a diamond, Harris has made kites in several geometric shapes. “Having chosen a shape that I’m confident will fly, I’m eager to get to the field,” Harris declared.
Once he decides the shape and creates the design, Harris chooses his material from either ripstop sailcloth or Tyvek. He says it is usually a toss-up because ripstop is more expensive and requires more sewing, while the Tyvek is less expensive, but more labor intensive. Harris usually orders the material he uses from kite fabric sellers online.
Harris makes his kite frames using fiberglass tubes and connectors. The bridle line (which attaches directly to the kite frame and governs the angle in relation to the wind) and flying line (the line that runs from the kite to its flier) are made from braided nylon of various strengths. Harris uses eighty-pound test line for his kites with a round, grooved halo reel loaded with 250 feet of flying line. Harris says the safe flier never exceeds five hundred feet of line because the kite could interfere with low-flying airplanes or have a strong gust of wind break the line.
After he’s drawn his design, Harris transfers the image onto the material using an overhead projector, painting in the details that are projected onto the kite. He cuts out the kite shape and reinforces the back of the kite perimeter with ribbon to prevent stretching. That’s when Harris’ wife Sandra steps in to sew pockets on the back of the kite at the corners; these pockets hold the tips of the frame. (Sandra also sews bags to store each of the kites that match the kite design for easy identification.) Grommets that hold the bridle lines and sail to the frame are added next. Finally, he seals the kite with a couple of coats of acrylic sealer to keep it waterproof and scratch resistant. “After I attach the bridle and fling line, it’s time for the fun part,” he said about testing the kite for flight.
Harris also carefully documents each kite. “We find a field that is open where a good breeze is assured. Once the flight is successful, we take pictures on the ground as well as in flight to have a record of that particular kite,” Harris said. “This creation that sprung from my mind and hands fills me with a simple joy.”
See the Kite Doctor in Action
Harris will be bringing a few of the kites he has made over the years to Kite Fest Louisiane, scheduled for Saturday, April 5, and Sunday, April 6, from 11 am until 6 pm each day at the West Baton Rouge Soccer Complex in Port Allen, Louisiana.
“I’ll be the one in the white coat that says ‘Dr. Kite’ on it,” he said. Known around the Kite Fest as “The Kite Doctor,” Harris strolls around the field helping others who may be having trouble getting off the ground, getting untangled, or with other kite-related maladies.
Harris was one of the first coordinators of Kite Fest Louisiane, now in its tenth year. “Marshall has been part of the festival since its inception,” recalled Stam. “He, along with the American Kitefliers Association, steered us in the right direction, and he has been very active ever since.”
“I just really love what I do,” said Harris of his high-flying passion. “Every kite has a story.”
Harris’ kites are like photographs in an album, prompting memories from different times of his life; and each one has a special place in his heart. He looks at them and sees past anniversary celebrations, memories made with his children, and reminders of all the things he loves.
After the maiden voyage of each of his kites, Harris said, “I always leave the field with a ‘Kite Smile’ on my face.”
Details. Details. Details.
Kite Fest
April 5 & April 6
West Baton Rouge
Soccer Complex
Port Allen, La.
11 am–6 pm each day
Kite-Making Supplies:
Hang ‘em High Fabrics
kites.tug.com/hang-closed
Into the Wind
intothewind.com
