This is my favorite piece. I sold the first wood version of this mobile to a woman in the UK, and have since worked with clients to make versions of "The Flow" in several materials and colors all across the US. I also sold one to the art director for the movie "Gigantic" starring Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel, with Ed Asner and John Goodman. It's supposed to be in the film, but I haven't seen the movie yet to know if "The Flow" made it to the silver screen or the cutting room floor.
Sometimes, the process of discovery and creation is almost as fun as the finished product. The pieces of this mobile are all cut from the same sheet, the top three pieces are the "cutouts" from making the bottom four pieces. I love the fact that I'm taking the negative spaces from between these lower parts and using them as positive spaces on the top. Hence the name, "Positive Curves" for this piece.
When I was a kid, there was a sailboat mobile hanging in my bedroom. I used to lay on the top bunk and blow gently on it causing it to spin slowly as I was falling asleep. Years later, when I had children of my own, I thought back to how much I enjoyed that mobile. So, I decided to make one of my own for my kids. This is an image of that mobile, with airplanes to match the bedding my boys had at the time. I don't make many mobiles of the "stick and string" variety like this anymore, but this one opened the door to a new and exciting art form I hadn't yet explored.
When I was a kid, I couldn't rest until I figured out how things worked. I loved taking stuff apart and making new things with the stuff I found inside. I especially get a thrill out of making something out of nothing, creating something unique just by bending wire for example. A while ago, I started making these little wire creations with moving parts just for fun. At the time, I had never heard the term "Automata" but have since realized it's a well established art form. It might be hard to tell from the photo above, but when you crank the tail of the sculpture the wings flap. I donated this piece to a charity auction and was later commissioned (by someone who was outbid!) to make similar pieces. I'll probably make more of this type of thing in the future. Below is a photo of one of the commissioned pieces. In this piece, there are two human figures that move as if they are rowing the shaft that causes the wings to flap. There are also two sets of wings that rise and fall at different intervals, and tail fins that move from side to side. Though these are not mobiles, they are fun kinetic art!
