Then in order to do the Flow, you need to set up a base plane off to the side, with objects to deform resting on that base plane. You'll select the objects to deform, run the Flow command, then select the base plane at the first prompt, and the curled sweep surface at the second prompt where it says to pick the target surface. The locations where you pick on each surface is significant, click in a similar spot near the end of one edge on both surfaces when you pick them. So the setup for the flow would look something like this with the base plane under your objects to deform:



Then the result is like this:




It can be helpful to use the "UnwrapCurve" plug-in to get a good length for the base plane so that it will match the actual length of the twisted surface and not do extra stretching or compression: http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5136.1

The prep work for making the curled surface is probably the hardest part, since that involves making adjustments to both the path curve and all the profile line curves on it using 3D manipulation tools rather than only doing 2D work. But once you produce a base surface that is curled how you want it then you can use Flow and that will let you apply all kinds of flat shapes onto it so for the individual shapes you get to do those as flat 2D shapes. So this approach at least helps to condense the 3D type work to the sweep construction.

Hope this helps illustrate what you would need to do!

- Michael