We have been keeping a blog since 2008. It is a chronological listing of many topics related to Wood that Works. You will find information about sculptures, inspirations, other artists, day to day life in the shop. The topics are many and fascinating. If you are an avid follower of David's work we encourage you to subscribe to this blog to receive the regular updates.
Labyrinth was my most recent kinetic sculpture introduction and it was well received. That translates into a lot of work in the studio constructing the sculptures that were ordered. A working shop is visually an interesting place and I have started photographing some of the views I see on a regular basis. (Yes, I love the new and improved camera in the latest iPhone.) I have been creating a visual journal and decided to share some of the photos here.
Bearings by the bucketful....
Parts set for assembly into more complex parts.
Carrying brackets lined up for finishing.
Wheels drying after being finished.
Parts creating visual patterns.
More complex parts coming together and being stacked.
Multiple wheel assemblies being tested.
Building the winding mechanism.
Lots of tiny pieces get added along the way.
Power source (constant force spring) is added.
Base units getting assembled.
Interesting angle of parts waiting for assembly.
A line of bases on the wall with drive wheels added.
The first level of the patterning wheel is added.
That is a far in the process as my photography takes us. I am enjoying recording the process photographically. Often the compositions of the photographics are artistic unto themselves. But as you can see, there is still much work to be done before I can ship. Back to the studio!
One of the questions asked most frequently before purchasing one of David's kinetic sculptures is, "How tricky is it to install?". Here is a video of kinetic artist Andrew Smith installing one of his whimsical sculptures and it could cause you concern.
The installation of David's sculptures is nothing like the above experience. David has developed techniques for helping people install his sculptures easily. Several years ago we created a video showing David installing Crescent. While that sculpture is long gone, the technique shown is similar to all of his wall pieces. Much easier than the Andrew Smith piece!
According to Dug North, automata basically means "self-moving". That is interestesting because, using that definition, technically David's sculptures are automata. However, there seems to be a difference in contemporary sculpture between automata and kinetic sculpture. I found myself wondering if there is a distiction, and if so, where is the line drawn. Take a minute and watch this video which shows not only the incredible automata created by Dug North, but also his home and workshop in a renovated industrial space in Lowell, MA.
To me, automata has always brought to mind the hand-powered mechanical pieces, generally of definable subject matter, i.e. people, animals, things depicted in a scene. North's beautifully constructed work reflects that understanding. Doing a little research I found some information in the book, Directions in Kinetic Sculpture by Peter Selz (Univerity of California, Berkley, University Art Museum). He states that the action in automata is always repeated but kinetic sculpture incorporates motion that is not predetermined but, instead is random. Given that further elaboration, some of David's sculptures would fall on the automata side of the line and others on the kinetic sculpture side. Interesting. But as in all things art do the terms really matter? Is it art, or craft, or sculpture? What matters is, do you like it?
Imagine having a walk-in safe in your home? What fun!
I just have to share this with you here on David's blog. I expect you folks will appreciate the complexity and humor of this incredible machine.
Yesterday, I got drawn into the Automata Blog by Dug North yet again (visit if you never have - great stuff!) and he had a post about this entertaining machine by artist Rob Higgs. It is the most elaborate (and heavy) corkscrew you will ever encounter and the mechancial aspects are marvelous. OneofOne.org in the UK has created an interesting video of it in action including interviews with the artist (who lives in an old boat) here but there are also several quicker YouTube versions showng the machine in action as well.
David continues to make kinetic sculptures with the sole function of entertaining the viewer through motion with an appreciation of simplicity in mechanical design. This corkscrew is directly opposite David's work in that it is an over-complex machine to perform a specific task. And it does so admirably well.
I’m often asked how long it takes to design a sculpture. My normal answer is that it varies, it can be days, months or even years. I think Labyrinth holds the record for length of time from conception to final execution.
I started working on it in 2007. The inspiration came from an animation I found online showing an interesting optical effect created when multiple parallel straight lines are rotated in opposite directions. (Unfortunately I can no longer find the animation.) I loved the dynamic patterns created and started a set of animation studies of my own. I wanted to see if I could extend the concept to wooden wheels. The practical constraints were different of course. Wood lines have to have a certain thickness and they need to be tied together with a hub and a bearing system. I played with dozens of different designs, drawing in Adobe Illustrator and animating in After Effects. I found that if I curved the lines and tied them together at the rim I could retain elements of the original concept but add a subtle shift in the dynamics. Of course it could be that I just prefer curves!
(working photo of prototype on test wall)
The wheel design turned out to be the easy part. Next I had to design a mechanism to move the wheels at the pace and in the directions I had developed in the animations. What is easy to do on the computer screen was a completely different challenge in the analog world! The wheel closest to the wall was the work horse. It had to rotate in both directions and occasionally give the front wheel a little nudge. It had to do all this while moving slowly so the patterns could evolve and flow at a pace that felt right to me.
The problem was the wheels were heavy and took a lot of energy to get moving and even more to stop and reverse direction. I thought I had a solution, two separate mechanisms that that would work together to power the sculpture. The mechanisms would work together with one side rotating the back wheel clockwise and the other side counter-clockwise. Each side would have its own drive spring so I would have ample energy to play with. I built the complete sculpture and it worked, sort of.
The patterning motion was as I had hoped but the sculpture was hard to set up and operate. It was also very inefficient. I was using two drive springs and only getting around 5 hours of run time. It was also difficult to keep it from stalling when I had the wheels moving slowly enough. I brought the sculpture down to the house and set it up on the “preview wall” in our dining room so we could live with it. It was there long enough that my daughter’s boyfriend (and now husband), Jared came up with the name. In the end I took it down and packed it away, it was too complex and unreliable. I felt a little bad because it was a great name chosen by the newest member of the family but the mechanism was a failure. (Naming sculptures is a family and friends challenge because I'm so bad at names!)
A few months ago I unpacked just the patterning wheels, spun them by hand and decided they were worth another effort. I have learned a lot about mechanism efficiency in the past 5 years and had some new ideas about how to handle the large wheels. The result, using a new mechanism design, was far different this time.
The sculpture produces exactly the motion I wanted, it’s easy to set up and operate and it runs for a bit over 12 hours on a single spring. The key is the 5 little wood balls you see marching up the string; actually not the balls but what they are covering, a short section of coil spring.
This spring absorbs the extra energy of the rotating back wheel when it comes to the end of its rotation in one direction and then feeds it back to the wheel but in the opposite direction. The rest of the 2 lever mechanism is also new but the use of this spring to aid in the change of direction was the breakthrough. Sometimes patience and frustration pays off!
The new Labyrinth operates for over 12 hours on a single spring wind. The mechanism is flexible and reliable enough that I could set exactly the pace I wanted. It’s also far easier to install and operate than the old version.
Link here to go to the website for additional ordering information on Labyrinth.
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 4:38PM 
