Orbital
“Orbital” 2020
Limestone and Found Objects: 26″ x 24″ x 12″
A powerful rare earth magnet holds the Upper Sprocket in suspension. It then spins freely, seeming to float in midair when the crank is turned. This is obviously a very important machine.
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Impatience
“Impatience” 2014
Found Objects 72″ x 32″ x 20″
It takes quite a few cranks of the handle to very slowly lift the wooden foot. It finally drops with an impatient tap as though anxious for you to get on with the cranking already.
This is a piece I built at a very busy time of my life. With almost no time to devote to art, I discovered a practice of psychological engineering on myself that I still use today. I found it difficult to jump into a creative frame of mind in my limited nights and weekends. However, if I left a small mechanical problem laying out on my desk, it served as an easy entry point. Is the spring too short? Does the crank wobble? Solving these little issues in aesthetically pleasing ways is what led to final form of this piece.