A Lighthouse with a Twist, Trumbull Style

Hurricane Irene may have brought down tree limbs and knocked out power, but it also inspired.

Raymond Swindon, a residential designer and a sculptor from , created a lighthouse model that took fourth place in the Maritime Aquarium's 10th annual design contest. He won $300.

"I wanted to create the appearance that the lighthouse was being twisted and contorted by the wind. The form was created by shaping four vertical copper rods making up the four corners of the tower. I then cut out copper flashing that I formed by hand and soldered them to the rods completing the contorted form," he said. 

"Inside the sculpture is a twisted copper spiral staircase that can be viewed through the small window fenestration's of the tower. Clear acrylic was used to create the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse. It's illuminated by a LED light source," Swindon said.

He added, "I named it the 'Rickety Steadfast' to emphasize the lighthouse's unwavering character. Although the lighthouse has been battered and tormented by the elements through the ages, it still retains its humble, steadfast nature to perform its duty."

He was ranked fourth by visitor voting by Aquarium visitors, out of 24 large model lighthouses built by local artisans, artists and amateurs, said Dave Sigworth, aquarium publicist. The “Festival of Lighthouses” display ran from Nov. 19 to Jan. 16.

Lighthouse models had to be three to six feet tall and have working lights. 

The first-place prize of $1,500 went to Donna Ball and Laura McNamara of Newtown, whose “Sugar Cookie Sheffield Lighthouse” was a precise model of Norwalk’s Sheffield Island Lighthouse made out of cookies, frosting and other edible touches, Sigworth said.

The other winners were:

• Second place ($750) – “Maritime Carousel 2011” by Paul Coughlan of Norwalk and Nicol Rupolo of Stamford.
• Third place  ($375)  –  “Hogwarts Lighthouse” by Nick Parker of Ridgefield.
• Fifth place ($225)  – “Northern Light House” by Ron and Cecile Lobo of Bridgeport.
• Sixth place ($150)  –  “Maritime Light” by the Huizinga family of Danbury.

More than 13,400 votes were tallied from this most recent display, which – as always – attracted a collection of widely creative works.