40 years • That is A Lot of History

Yesterday, Zach Crockett of Pricenomics published an indepth article about Wood That Works. He did a truly excellent job of portraying us, David's creative process, and the evolution of this quirky but cool business of ours.  Check it out here.

This is a great way to celebrate 40 years of creating kinetic sculpture! Thanks Zach for writing this interesting and informative article.

I pulled together some images for Zach and he didn't use them all. I thought I'd share a few with you here. This is a photo probably from 1977 of David in the old cinder block milk shed that was his first real studio.

And here is a photo I took last week of David at work now in 2015 in his current studio.

Yes, things have changed! And all for the better. 

Kinetic Sculpture Availability • Last Call!

Frolic • Nearing Edition End

I build my sculptures in limited editions. I only make a predefined number of a sculpture and then no more. Folks have requested an announcement when a favorite is running out. This posts is to give you some warning on some ending designs.

Frolic has been a favorite and I am nearing the edition end. I will be making the last group of five in September of this year. Four are still available so if you have been waiting and saving for Frolic, now is the time to make your move. Soon, they will be all gone. Folic is $1995.00. Order here.

Labyrinth • Studio Master Available

I am ending the production of Labyrinth. It is time to move onto to a new patterning piece and there aren't enough months in the year to make everything! I still have the studio sculpture available for sale. This piece is one of the edition that I have displayed in the studio and used as my guide as I create additional edition pieces. This is the last Labyrinth. The price is $2095.00. Order here.

Evolution is Evolving

I thought I was done with Evolution but then I had a brainstorm for new type of mechanism that was perfect for it.  I experimented on my Evolution and I really liked how it moved. The motion now spends more time in the slow phase so the patterns are more fluid. As a bonus the run time has increased from 3.5 to 5.5 hours.  

I decided to make the remainder of the Evolution edition with the modified mechanism. So it has been returned to the line. There is no place for it in the schedule right now so it would be mid-late fall if that is your favorite piece! Evolution is $1595.00.  Order here.

Solo Kinetic Sculpture takes flight!

David recently released another new kinetic sculpture.  This one is Solo and it again incorporates one of his favorite themes, flight. He is applying a new mechanism to drive this and is very pleased with the end result.

Visit the website to see a video and more photographs of this new piece.  It is being produced in an edition of 95 and runs for 11 hours per winding.

A search of his portfolio shows that he has designed 17 flight related designs over the past 35 plus years. Click here to explore them all and see a little history along the way!

Shimmer is done and we get to celebrate!

It is celebration time again at Wood That Works. David has just completed the last of the Shimmer edition. All 95 have been made and 93 of those have been boxed, sold and shipped!

Shimmer is a well traveled design. We have shipped them to 25 different states and 7 other countries including France, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and New Zealand!

We have two Shimmers left. This post is directed to those of you that have noted Shimmer is your favorite and you are hoping it won't sell out soon. It will! We have learned that we get flooded with calls right after a design sells out.  This is to give you a little warning! Here is a link to the info page here and the order page here.

 And once they all sell, we get to go out to dinner and celebrate!

Always Tweaking - Kinetic Design Changes

This week I am introducing Monarch II.  This isn't really a new sculpture introduction like Swoop was last week. No, Monarch II is a tweak, a significant tweak, to Monarch. 

Part of the joy of my job is the freedom to explore.  I am constantly learning, evolving and changing my designs. I have modified Monarch to incorporate a variation recently refined while working on other ideas. There is a longer explanation about it here on the webpage but suffice it to say, although the motion, action and essence of the two is the same, there is a visual difference in the center. 

 

In Monarch II much of the clutter has been removed. It just wasn't needed in this new, more elegant solution. I have learned that if I don't document these changes, and update the photos in the website, people notice and wonder.  

I have decided, because there is a noticeable visual difference, I will close the Monarch edition (now Monarch I) at 36, and will start Monarch II with the next scheduled production run in June. This will be a new edition of 75. 

• Monarch II Information Page
• Monarch II Order Page 

I am constantly looking for a better design, a better mechanism or even a better tomato soup recipe. It keeps me working and smiling.