The Flow Arts
“The Flow Arts” are umbrella terms for a wide variety of different arts and skills that integrate the manipulation of props with body movement in a wide variety of ways. Most of these can be done with toys designed to be lit on fire.
Fire Tools
Modern firespinning has developed along with the flow arts. It uses special equipment that can support a wick, or absorptive medium meant to hold fuel. Wick is usually a kevlar-cotton weave, which can be purchased from specialty stores. The fire arts are, of course, dangerous, and it is the aim of The Fire Triangle to help provide support to those starting out in these scary yet exciting artforms. So that you can reference the relative risk before trying them out, the fire arts are listed below with a brief description of the risks involved.
Fire poi: Equipment involves a bundle of wick (most common fashions are the cathedral and monkey fist wicks, shown below), attached by a chain or cable to a handle, which can involve either finger loops or held handles.
Danger rating: Low to Medium. Most mishaps involve hitting yourself on the body with the wicks, which is very short-lived and rarely enough to do damage. The danger is largely dependant upon the size of the wicks: small wicks are quite benign whereas large, theatrical wicks can propose a real risk.
Where to buy: Complete poi or poi heads can be purchased from a wide variety of vendors. However, they can also be made more cheaply from kevlar (bought in bulk, which you can get from Trick Concepts or Home of Poi) and parts that can be purchased at a hardware store.
Fire snakes: Equipment involves a rope or heavily braided rope attached to a short chain and handles which is soaked in fuel and spun like poi. Snakes come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from simple, glowstick-like ropes (seen here) to over-sized gigantic braided wicks with big stars on the end. The move vocabulary is a bit more limited due to the larger size, but the overall effect is much brighter (and hotter!).
Danger rating: Medium. Most mishaps involve hitting yourself on the body with the wicks, which is very short-lived and rarely enough to do damage. The danger is largely dependant upon the size of the wicks: small wicks are quite benign whereas large, theatrical wicks can propose a real risk.
Basic staff: Wicks are typically rolled to the ends of metal or wooden staves, allowing for an inter-dependent, end-heavy staff spinning experience.
Danger rating: Low. Because the wicks are so easily controllable, the risk of self-injury is low, even with large staffs.
Contact staff: Special staffs are made with hollow, lightweight aluminum tubing, large, weighted ends, and usually some form of tennis gripping in the center. The staff is spun with body movements rather than with your hands.
Danger rating: Medium. Contact staffing is more dangerous than basic staffing because the user doesn’t have the same degree of manual control, and the chances of being scalded by the metal ends are greater. (touching hot metal is MUCH worse than touching a hot wick!)
Where to buy: Staves can be purchased from awide variety of vendors. However, they can also be made very cheaply from kevlar and aluminum pipe or hardwood handles (which you can get from Trick Concepts or Home of Poi). It is strongly recommended that contact staves be purchased pre-made unless you know what you’re doing, they are quite tricky.
Double staff: Medium-to-small staffs made of wood or metal depending on the style.
Danger rating: Medium. While both staffs are under manual control, there is a lot of wick, and they can get very hot.
Where to buy: Staves can be purchased from a wide variety of vendors. However, they can also be made very cheaply from kevlar and aluminum pipe or hardwood handles (which you can get from Trick Concepts or Home of Poi). Be sure to consider your style when purchasing or making double staves. Tech double staves should be 36 inches or shorter, and luau-style ones should be longer.
Devil aka flower sticks look a lot like batons, but they’re a bit different. Usually three are used at the same time – two for each hand and a third one to bounce back and forth between the two that you’re holding.
Danger rating: High. Flaming staff is controlled by two batons, so there is a lot of tossing into the air and potential for mistakes.
Dragon Staff is a type of contact staff. It’s a 5-6 foot staff with Kevlar wicks attached to each end, with additional wicked spokes or “spines” set at a perpendicular angle. The multiple spokes are attached to two weighted ends, which are what give the staff a continuous and mesmerizing ‘spin’ or flow, as well as slow it down. Less speed means more control for the flow artist.
Fire hoop: Fire hoops feature small wicks that are suspended from flexible cables on the ends, creating a series of flaming “points” around the hoop.
Danger rating: Low. While the experience can be intimidating, hoop wicks are forced by inertia to stay on the outside of your body, making the risk of being burned rather low.
Where to buy: Hoops and special “quick wicks” can be purchased locally from Synergy Flow Arts.
Fire fans: Wicks are fastened to a metal structure that can range from simple to elegant in design.
Danger rating: Low, because they are very easy to control, but the big ones can get quite hot!
Where to buy: Fire fans can be purchased from Trick Concepts.
Fuel Types
To start the fun, the wicks of the toys are soaked in fuel for 10-20 seconds. The excess fuel is then shaken off, squeezed out, or spun off into a bucket to prevent excessive and dangerous flaming drippage.
White gas (a.k.a. camp fuel) is special high-octane gasoline that produces a bright, performance-quality theatrical flame. The burn duration is very short and it does not produce any smoke. It has a low flashpoint and combusts instantaneously, allowing for quick start-ups and flame tricks. White gas is the preferred fuel for most fire performers’ acts. White gas must ALWAYS be carefully stored in a very tightly closed container, and any fuel dump containing white gas must be carefully watched. White gas can be purchased at Wal-Mart or camping supply stores like REI.
White gas is idea for experienced users of poi, staff, double staff, fire eating, and indoor performances. WHITE GAS CAN NEVER be used for fire breathing!
Lamp oil (a.k.a. ultra pure paraffin) is highly refined kerosene. It comes in varying levels of purity and is usually used for outdoor torches. Lamp oil is slippery, has a
longer burn duration and a higher flashpoint than white gas. Because it has a lower burn temperature than white gas, it is the preferred fuel for beginners, and tends to be better for toys with multiple, small wicks like hoops and fans. It can be slightly smokey, depending on the grade. It can be purchased at most large retail and garden stores, or ordered online.
Ideal for beginning users of poi, staff and double staff, hooping and fans. The ultra-pure varieties are used by fire-breathing performers.
Kerosene (a.k.a. parrafin) is a less-pure version of paraffin that is used by old-skool fire spinners that don’t mind being filthy. Kerosene has long burn time, produces
heavy smoke and a strong odor, and, like lamp oil, is not combustible. Unlike lamp oil, kerosene is very cheap and can be purchased at certain gas stations from a pump (it is often dyed red for identification, and must be pumped into a BLUE container), and is also sold at The Home Depot and Lowe’s. Because of its strong odor and inability to evaporate, kerosene is not used at events or fire jams.
Ideal for people who are tight on cash, or fire spinners who don’t have access to ultra pure or white gas.
Biodiesel is a very oily substance refined from vegetable oil. It has an extremely high flash point and burn time. It is smoky and smells like french fries when it burns. It also has a fairly high burn temperature, and the oil can retain heat without combusting…meaning that it can be painful if you hit yourself with it! Biodiesel is difficult to find commercially and is usually refined at small, green cooperatives. It has a very low toxicity level and, depending on the level of refinement, may even be edible (but we don’t recommend drinking it!)
Ideal for winter time practice (while heavily clothed), and people who are really, really into the organic movement. If refined well, it is also useful for practicing fire breathing.
Naphtha is a solvent with an slightly higher rate of evaporation than white gas but is *very* similar to white gas. The burn temperature is medium/low and the duration is short. It is clean and
easy to manage, and can be good for spinning in more precarious locations, such as well-ventilated indoor venues. While it burns clean, it is highly toxic and can be harmful to skin. It is sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s as a solvent and is quite expensive. Sherwin Williams and other stores sell it for more reasonable prices
Ideal for jugglers, devil stickers and other small-wicked instruments that don’t want to go crazy and burn with white gas.
Fuel types that are NOT recommended for fire spinning:
Gasoline produces toxic odors when burned and is incredibly unstable. Picture all the volatility and heat of white gas, and now add the fumes and nastiness of kerosene. Not a good idea.
Bacardi 151/Everclear – according to err’d popular opinion, these are the preferred fuel of fire breathers — this is a myth. Alcohol is a TERRIBLE fire breathing fuel. The flame is weak in color and brightness, the temperature is hot, the risk of blowback is very high, and worst of all it can make you intoxicated while you are doing it. DON’T FIRE BREATHE WITH THIS STUFF, EVER.
Isopropyl and Denatured Alcohol produce high temperatures and weak flames. While fire spinning with them is not the most dangerous thing you can do, they have no properties that make them ideal to the fuels mentioned above.
Other fire arts
Two other popular fire arts that are worthy of note, due to their popularity, are fire eating and fire breathing. Fire eating involves tricks in which a small, mouth-sized torch (soaked in white gas) makes contact with the lips, tongue and mouth to make different kinds of tricks. Fire breathing involves spitting out a mouthful of fuel (ultra-pure lamp oil or biodiesel, and NOTHING else) at a torch to produce giant columns of flame. Both of these arts are extremely dangerous. There are special ways to handle fire eating and certain breathing techniques that must be understood before even attempting these activities. We recommend that you take your time before attempting them, as they can result in death, severe burns on the face or in the mouth, poisoning, chemical pneumonia, cancer, or any combination thereof.