Getting “Head Case #2” ready for the destructive force that is Maker Faire! He’ll be on display in the Applied Kinetic Arts booth in the South East corner of Expo Hall, San Mateo fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20.
He’ll be in good company too: Benjamin Cowden, Mark Galt, Aaron Geman, Jonathan Foote, and Tal Avitzur.
See the link below for a full program of exhibitors and events:
http://cdn.makezine.com/make/makerfaire/bayarea/2012/MF12BA_Program_LoResFINAL.pdf
Mayday! Mayday!
New piece finished up last minute before our show this weekend!
A stranger in an even stranger land finds himself in peril, desperate for a safe place to land.
Materials:
Radio cabinet, chalk line, license plate light bulb cover, typewriter cooling fan blade, radio tuning knobs, book illustration clippings, fresnel lens, LEDs, motors
(Source: nemomatic.com)
Mayday! Mayday!
New piece finished up last minute before our show this weekend!
A stranger in an even stranger land finds himself in peril, desperate for a safe place to land.
Materials:
Radio cabinet, chalk line, license plate light bulb cover, typewriter cooling fan blade, radio tuning knobs, book illustration clippings, fresnel lens, LEDs, motors
Here is the video for my new piece: ”High Voltage“ 2012 (102” x 65” x 24”)
This sculpture uses an effect known as a “Jacob’s Ladder”. A high voltage arc is produced by way of a neon sign transformer, and then transmitted up the electrodes in the sculptures head. I’m personally very pleased with the movement with this one. All the action is generated within the abdomen. The little pistons in the ankles act as shock absorbers to smooth out the motion.
Materials:
Industrial water valve, scaffold tubing, street light support arms, glass tube, vacuum cleaners, lamp fixtures, bicycle pedal cranks, neon sign transformer, gears from floor polisher, magnifying lens, drain cover, high voltage vacuum tubes, hydraulic dampers, plastic, phenolic, motor, LEDs
New piece to share: “High Voltage“ 2012 (102” x 65” x 24”)
This sculpture uses an effect known as a “Jacob’s Ladder”. A high voltage arc is produced by way of a neon sign transformer, and then transmitted up the electrodes in the sculptures head. I’m personally very pleased with the movement with this one. All the action is generated within the abdomen. The little pistons in the ankles act as shock absorbers to smooth out the motion.
Materials:
Industrial water valve, scaffold tubing, street light support arms, glass tube, vacuum cleaners, lamp fixtures, bicycle pedal cranks, neon sign transformer, gears from floor polisher, magnifying lens, drain cover, high voltage vacuum tubes, hydraulic dampers, plastic, phenolic, motor, LEDs
Here is the video for my new piece:
“Cycloptopus” 2012 (65” x 57” x 29”)
Cycloptopus is a fearsome hybrid of two of my favorite monsters, one real, one mythical. This creature is particularly dangerous because of its irritability. You’d be irritable too if you were powered by an open flame and your body was made of wood.
Materials:
Radio cabinets, rocking chairs, fake fireplace, decorative clock elements, cabinet knobs, wall paper, chair parts, lamp parts, wheel hub, motors, LEDs
New piece to share: “Cycloptopus” 2012 (65” x 57” x 29”)
Cycloptopus is a fearsome hybrid of two of my favorite monsters, one real, one mythical. This creature is particularly dangerous because of its irritability. You’d be irritable too if you were powered by an open flame and your body was made of wood.
Materials:
Radio cabinets, rocking chairs, fake fireplace, decorative clock elements, cabinet knobs, wall paper, chair parts, lamp parts, wheel hub, motors, LEDs
Here is a video of my short presentation at the Exploratorium in San Francisco last weekend. It takes you through the basic process of making a sculpture, followed by an overview of my work in general.
Wow Paul Spooner, he’s huge!
Seriously though, one of my heros.
I’ll be bringing two of my smaller new pieces to Instructables Robot Block Party this evening in San Francisco. If you’d like to come by be sure to sign up at the link below:
http://www.instructables.com/community/NRW-2012-Robot-Block-Party/
This little machine will be installed in the head of the large cyclops-octopus-robot thing I’m working on. Its made from a truck wheel hub, a candle holder, the motor from a dollar bill intake machine, some LEDs, and a few other random parts.
New “Baby Squid” sculpture.
This is the first piece completed in my new studio!
Check here for more information: http://tinyurl.com/3fn7hh5
I’ve had a little over a week in my new shop now so I suppose its time to get back in the habit of posting. I’ve got a way to go before I feel totally settled in, but I’m getting there with the help of some small projects.
Shown here is a recurring theme of repurposing fishing reels. In this case it will be a little squid. The reel’s mechanism will cause the majority of the tentacles to rotate and the remaining two will move back and forth.
Here is the video for my new sculpture “Captain Nemo #3”.
More complete information about this piece can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/4yunjgt
Here are some final images of my new sculpture “Captain Nemo #3” (video in following post).
Having carried the name Nemo my whole life, I have come to identify with the anti-hero Captain Nemo in Jules Verne’s 20,000 leagues under the sea. This is the latest in an ongoing series of works that portray this character as he faces his greatest foe: the Giant Squid.
Materials:
Clock cabinet, vacuum tube, brass lamp parts, refrigerator condenser, model train figure, LEDs, gear motor, cooling fan, aquarium plants, magazine clippings, lava rock, fresnel lens. magnifying lens, misc metal hardware.
More complete information about this piece can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/4yunjgt
