Food for the Creative Kinetic Soul

It is definitely inspiring to spend time sharing stories with others that love kinetic sculpture.  This past weekend (Oct. 9-10, 2010) was my first open house in fifteen years and it was a rewarding and motivating experience on many levels. 

Since the Internet has become my main face to the world, I seldom get to meet the people that own my sculptures. This is a definite loss because having discourse with others about my work, about their work, about the creative world in general is truly inspiring. Saturday and Sunday I got to surround myself  with people and together discuss so many topics. Marji and I extend thanks to those who came from both near and far to spend a few hours sharing the joy of kinetic sculpture with us. It is food for the creative soul!

Below are a few photos from the event.

Marji and I had a wonderful time. I expect we will not wait another fifteen years for the next open studio.  Join us then.

Music and Motion

All are invited to an open house at the Wood That Works Studio and Gallery to experience first hand the mesmerizing and relaxing ambiance created by David's two new designs - Silver Symphony and Silver Song. The peaceful effect of these two designs is so calming that it has inspired David to open the studio for the first time in 15 years so others can enjoy the experience. The experience of being in a room filled with kinetic sculptures is well worth the trip!

By far the most complicated sculpture to emerge from David's design sabbatical is Silver Symphony (above).   It combines kinetic motion and the deep, beautiful sound of Woodstock Percussion Chimes of Apollo tubes tuned to an ancient Chinese pentatonic scale.  David has designed a mechanism that powers a subtle yet deeply satisfying random series of musical sequences.  The top portion of the sculpture is a visually fascinating celestial dance transferring the entertainment from audio to visual while regulating and randomizing the audio experience.

David designed Silver Symphony without regard to size or cost, he just followed a dream.  Realizing that dreams aren't very practical, but loving the sound and effect, David took what he had learned and started work on a smaller wall mounted version.  The result is Silver Song, a wall mounted kinetic chime using Woodstock Percussion Olympos Chime tubes that are tuned to an an ancient Greek pentatonic scale. It provides a similar relaxing ambiance to help the listener unwind and enjoy, but with a more practical space requirement!

This design borrows elements from Chime Carillon of 1988 and combines it with twenty years of added experience in improving and fine tuning the design, construction of the mechanism and control of the sound. There is extensive information about both designs at David's web site at www.woodthatworks.com.

Fall Craft Events

American Style Magazine has assembled a great list of events and exhibitions around the USA for those of us that love crafts. Are any near you?  Check out these listings and plan your fall schedule.

Craft Shows of interest:

• American Pottery Festival in Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 9-12 


• WheatonArts presents its annual Festival of Fine Craft Oct. 2-3 in Millville, N.J.


• Wood That Works Open Studio, Ashford, CT., Oct. 9-10


• Explore more than 300 events at the 11th annual Philadelphia Open Studio Tours Oct. 2-3 and 9-10.  


• Paradise City Craft Fair, Northampton, MA, Oct.9,1-11


• Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands in Asheville, N.C.  Oct. 21-24.


• The first annual American Craft Show NYC  at the Javits Center, Nov. 19-21. 


• Washington Craft Show, Nov. 19-21. 

And a listing of museum exhibitions of interest:

• The Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington:“BAM Biennial 2010: Clay Throwdown!”  though Jan. 16, 


• New Jersey’s Newark Museum , “Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement.” Sept. 15-Jan. 2.


• The Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., “A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection.”  Sept. 24-Jan. 30.


•  “O’Keeffiana: Art and Art Materials” at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., Sept. 24-May 8


• Houston Center for Contemporary Craft’s“CraftTexas 2010”, Sept. 25-Dec. 30.


•  “Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay” at the de Young in San Francisco.  Sept. 25-Jan. 18.


• The American Folk Art Museum in New York Oct. 5-February with “Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum.” 


•  Seattle Art Museum Oct. 8-Jan. 9 will get a glimpse of Paris: “Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris” 


• “Photo Clay: In the Picture with Warren Mather” at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass., Oct. 9-Jan. 23


• The Indianapolis Museum of Art  “Andy Warhol Enterprises” Oct. 10-Jan 2. 


• Racine Art Museum,“Collection Focus in Fibers: John McQueen and Carol Eckert at RAM”  Oct. 17-Feb. 6 

Double Cascade • Multiplying Kinetic Sculptures

I recently combined four White Water sculptures together to create Double Cascade. This modular concept continues to grow! I have now created sculptures with one, two, three, and now four White Water modules.

Open House Soon:

Also - an advanced announcement.  Marji and I are planning an open house at my studio in Ashford, CT Columbus Day weekend 2010, Oct. 9th and 10th. Start planning a road trip to Connecticut to see the fall leaves and visit us. More new work will be on display!  Additional info will follow here on this blog or sign up for my mailing list.

Kinetic inspiration...

I love it when people are inspired by my sculptures to do original work. There is an infinite world of mechanisms, shapes, sound and motion to explore. It's wonderful to see something new. 

I recently received the following email:

Hi, I am an Industrial design student at Rhode Island School of Design with an interest in kinetics. I have long been greatly inspired by your work and thought I might share something I've made which was greatly influenced by your sculptures. The materials are poplar, aluminum tubing, 1/8" acrylic, and a fluorescent light source. I don't know if it is quite sophisticated enough to fit into the context of your blog, but I figured I'd share anyway. Cheers! James Schaffroth Rhode Island School of Design

James has created something totally original using inspiration he gathered.  Check out his work.

Very nice James.