Early Wooden Mechanisms for TEDx

David and I have been hard at work preparing for his TEDx Talk on Sept. 16th.  Oodles of minutes have been shot for new videos and David has spent hours trying to pare down 35 years of discovery and inspiration into 18 minutes of talk.  Significant portions of his work which were never captured in video before are now being recorded. Here is a short video collage displaying detail shots of six of his earliest reliable mechanisms.

Top Row (L to R) Anticipation, Wandering Asterisk, Serendipity

Bottom Row (L to R) Inventor Released, Tumbleweed, Crazy Eight

The keyword is reliable. During the early years of Wood That Works David designed many, many mechanisms.  Only a few worked reliably and were expanded to become sculptures.  Most didn't.  I provide this as words of encouragement to those of you trying to create kinetic sculpture yourselves. It takes a lot of experimentation to understand mechanisms and their peculiarities. And even more to control it for creating patterns.

Links of Interest:

TEDx at BGSU

David to Speak at TEDx • BGSU

Exciting news! David has been invited to speak about his work at a TEDx conference on September 16th at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

David generally doesn't do speaking engagements because there just isn't enough time in the day.  If you are a follower of TED talks you'll automatically understand why this one is different.  If you have never seen a TED Talk then you should take some time and watch the best.  You'll not be disappointed. TED stands for technology, entertainment and design and the universal theme is "Ideas Worth Spreading." Local organizations can sponsor regional TED Talks called TEDx events.  David has been invited to participate in the TEDx conference at Bowling Green State Univeristy on September 16th. The theme of this event is "Passion, Inspiration, Action!".

Needless to say things are in a turmoil here as we prepare. We have been searching through the physical archives. Tucked away is the histroy of this 35 year odyssey and in that history one finds the roots of the passion and insipiration behind Wood That Works.

We have been unpacking boxes and video taping some of David's earliest work. The gallery is in shambles because it is currently a video studio as we try to capture designs David created long before personal video was an option.

 The boxes are filled with surprises, the original working prototypes for so many of his editions. We uncovered the very first B.W. Cornwallis which was the first wall mounted sculpture created in 1976. Although B.W. required some tweeking to get it operational almost all of the designs worked as soon as the weights were attached. It has been a nostalgic week to say the least. Images and videos for many blog posts are being collected.  Here is a teaser sampler of some close-ups from B.W.©1976

If you live in the vicinity of Bowling Green, Ohio consider getting a ticket to the conference. The hope is that David's presentation will make it into the TED Talks archives so that even those that can't attend wil be able to hear and see what David has to share via YouTube.

Cognition Kinetic Sculpture in NYC

Yesterday, David and I delivered his large, mesmerizing, free-standing sculpture, Cognition to An American Craftsman Gallery in New York City.

An American Craftsman has been displaying David's work in NYC for 20 years but recently landed some additional gallery space right next door to the Whitney Museum of American Art on Madison Avenue.

If you live in the NYC area and missed the open house at David's studio you can visit the gallery to see this unique one-of-a-kind sculpture in motion. The gallery is located at 940 Madsion Ave. just above 74th Street.  Cognition is on display in the front window and because it operates for 24 hours on a single winding, will be moving through the night. That is important in the city that never sleeps!

The gallery had a great selection of fine American crafts in wood, ceramic, glass and metal in addition to David's work.

If you decide to visit NYC and the gallery, stop back here and let us know about your visit.  Just a heads up though - there is on street packing on the opposite side- 2 hours and empty on Saturday AM.  It is regulated with those charge card meter boxes on the corner and if you don't get back to your car quickly with your receipt in hand, you will get a ticket- voice of experience here!

Directions for Your Kinetic Sculpture!

David has been creating kinetic sculptures for a very long time - since the 70's. And for each design out there we have created directions for the owners.  This started long before we had a computer so many of the directions aren't in digital format. Here is an example of the illustration that is part of the Inventor Released Directions Packet. 

Others are in formats no longer readable by today's software. We have known for awhile that we needed to make this archive of directions available online but oh, what a job! Thanks to our daughter Amy that project is now well on its way to completion. She has scanned all directions that were not digital or could no longer be opened and she saved them in pdf format. She has also saved all directions that could still be accessed in pdf format as well. And she has uploaded them all, created links to their photos and made it all accessible to you. 

Available today is the the Wood That Works Directions Page here. There is a phenomenal listing of sculptures created by David over the years.  

Now, the next time you need the instructions for your David C. Roy kinetic sculpture you can simply download a copy here.

Many of the newer designs have online directions already. The most recent designs will be getting similar webpages and downloads as well.

Thanks, Amy! 

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Alternative Kinetic Power Source • Water

Nearly all of David's kinetic sculptures are powered by springs. Early in his career he used descending weights but he has never used water as a power source.  These sculpted downspouts crafted out of copper do use water as a power source.

Their combination of whimsey and mechanics appealed to me.  I thought many of you that enjoy David's work would also appreciate the creativity of these downspouts.  They are designed and crafted by Vladimir Sumchecko, a Ukrainian immigrant located in the Pacific Northwest.  His website is Art of Rain.