New Piece!

Here is part of a new piece. It will have large ceramic legs to lift it off the floor. There will be a windmill driven by a motion sensor and electric air pump when the piece is completed.

Almost Done!

Here is a new piece I have had in the works for a while. The box will be mounted on the wall, but this was easier and easier setup to adjust the motion sensor settings. It needs a few more things, but it is up and working! 

 Turbine/Windmill Spinning

Where the magic happens..

In Progress

Here are some images of a new piece I am making. I am going to use an air pump and motion sensor to power the piece and it will have a rotating fan that spins instead of using a balloon.

New Ideas

Lately I have been trying to think of some new ideas for pieces. I am searching for ways to make something function, but not have a specific end result or purpose attached to it. I have been looking a lot at simple machines and how they work. Travis mentioned incorporating pulleys into a piece, so I began looking at pictures and around for anything I could use to make a piece, since my budget is limited. I was looking around our studio and made this discovery in a drawer:

I figured out a way to take the axles from these wheels and make ceramic pulleys for them. Here is what I have in mind:

It is very simple right now, but it will use a hand crank to spin the pulleys. The belt will complete a closed track through the system of pulleys without completing a specific task. 

Firing Large Work

I have started to realize the stress of firing larger work. It is something fairly new to me and if I keep going in this direction I have already figured out ways to make loading and unloading easier. This got loaded today and another piece is cooling in the car kiln.

Finished and Working!

Before Thanksgiving break I was getting a little burnt out. I went to my parents house for a couple days and was able to recharge my batteries for the final push of the semester. When I got back, I worked on finishing this machine. The surface is different from others I have tried in the past and was trying to make it look like new plastic. I think the colors and brightness add a little more to the cartoon aesthetic of this piece. Here are some photos taken of it working!

New Work

 Here are some images of work that I have completed and things in progress from this week.

This piece will hold an air pump on the inside of the main slab construction. A balloon will go on the inside of the round piece with the cutouts on it and bulge out of the openings when inflated.

Here is the air pump I will be incorporating into a piece. This week I found a motion sensor that I can use as a switch to turn the pump on and off. Mike and Aaron helped me figure out some basic wiring issues I was having and how to wire it to a plug. When some one walks by the sensor, it starts the pump. The pump stays on for 12 seconds then the balloon immediately deflates. Also, the sensor allows me to adjust the range and timer, so I have control over how close someone has to be to start the pump. 

 I started this piece a couple days ago. It will be hand cranked piece with two pistons on the backside in sliding tracks. I am playing around with the form and perspective of the slab construction. It is still essentially a box, but is more architectural and whimsical. There are two valves on the right side making it appear as if there is an additional function or outcome of the piece. Also, I am going to use a metal shaft, allowing it to spin more freely.