Go fly a kite. That’s not usually considered career advice, but in the case of Greg Kono it would be.

Kono is a master kite maker who takes the childhood pastime of kite flying into the realm of fine art. A selection of his creative handmade kites are on display at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery through the end of the month, and he will lead a Japanese bamboo kite making workshop at the gallery June 24.

Kono builds his creations at his studio, Kono Design, in West Seattle, many of them for the Drachen Foundation. The non-profit organization is devoted to kites, including their history, cultural context and artistic element. It conducts kite making workshops around the world.

In a recent phone interview Kono noted that kites can be found in most cultures around the world, but that for him, the inspiration for a career in kites came at a family reunion.

With a background in art, he was asked to design posters for the 2001 family reunion. His Japanese heritage made bamboo and paper kites a natural medium. He ended up building a traditional kite with family images on it, including the Japanese character, or kanji, for “circle,” as in a gathering of people.

From there, Kono’s new career just seemed to fall in place. Less than a year later, he took a kite building workshop at the Drachen Foundation.

“The timing was perfect,” he said. “It really perked my interest.”

Six months later, he put his museum exhibit design skills to work for the foundation, building kites and working on traveling exhibits.

Kono’s kite building skills have improved steadily and his designs continue to become more creative.

“I’ve done other forms of art, but I tend to lose interest,” he said.

With kites, there is the artistic challenge of creating something unique and beautiful, but there is also the kinesthetic challenge of creating works of art that actually does what kites are supposed to do — fly.

While Kono spends a lot of time on the artistic design, “it’s not really complete until it’s flown,” he said.

But what comes up must come down, as anyone who has flown a kite knows. What about those creations that plummet to earth, with dire consequences?

“I’ve had many crash and burn flights,” Kono concedes. “I used to spend a lot of time on the illustrations, but that would happen.”

Now if he’s working on a new structural design he doesn’t put as much time into the artistic element.

“I still get crashes, but I have more knowledge of kite making so my success rate is higher. Failures are part of the process.”

Kono’s “face” kites on exhibit at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery are some of his most ambitious to date. His kites are getting larger with more elaborate “skeletons.”

“When the kites are flying you see the ‘bones,’” he said. He is working on incorporating them into the artistic element of the design.

For the workshop on Saturday Kono will lead participants in the creation of koma dako, the traditional Japanese kites using a split bamboo framework and “washi,” a strong but lightweight handmade paper. He will go through the creation process, from explaining the tools to splitting bamboo and the characteristics of kite paper.

Participants will create their own kites and if there’s time they’ll loft their works of art into the air.

Kono’s koma dako workshop takes place 1-3 p.m. June 24 at the gallery, 151 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island. Cost, including materials, is $46 for BAC members, $51 others. Participants under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Pre-registration required, call the gallery at (206) 842-3132.