Sky Duet Kinetic Sculpture by David C. Roy

Here is the latest wooden kinetic sculpture form David C. Roy. This one is titled Sky Duet.

You can see more images and read about the artist's process of creation on his web site.

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Kinetic Art Compilation by by Jennifer Townley

Check out this lovely and mesmerizing set of sculptures by Jennifer Townley.

You can see more kinetic sculptures by Jennifer Townley on her web site.

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Animated flip book movie made with watercolor and clock parts

Check out this lovely animated/kinetic work by Juan Fontanive.

From the video description:

Juan Fontanive creates machines that combine moving images with clockwork mechanisms. His hand-made screens and metal structures are deeply influenced by the moving image — from shutters and reels to illusory flickering. Responding to the lack of movement found in our current electronics age, he is interested in actual movement in relation to virtual. His machines long to free images; they combine to form a medium in themselves exploring the vividness of living things.

Here is where you can see more animated art Juan Fontanive.

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Scriblo - a hand-cranked handwriting automaton kit

Check out the latest creation for Shasa Bolton: a handwriting automaton called "Sciblo". Scriblo is designed to sketch simple words and pictures when you turn the handle.

Scriblo is sold as a flat-pack kit. The pieces slot together without glue. The piece can be mounted on a wall or sit on a table. The kit comes with the cams to spell "yes".

Here is where you can learn more about Scriblo, the handwriting automaton.

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The Wounded Child - Wall-mounted automaton by Paul Nitsche

Check out his beautifully executed wall mounted automaton by Paul Nitsche. titled The Wounded Child. The end of the video features some tantalizing still photos of the creation process and internal mechanism.

Here is where you can see more work by Paul Nitsche.

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Up To Speed - hand-cranked kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky

Here's a new wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by artist Gina Kamentsky titled Up To Speed. I love how everything is visible. Some of the found parts used to fabricate the machine are clearly recognizable, others on the edge of recognition, and still others are just plain mysterious. Of course, the playful/thoughtful nature of her work is always a joy to watch.

This pieces is from her new body of mechanical sculpture work for 2014. You can see more at http://www.ginakamentsky.com.

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Butterfly Effect -- a kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickins,

Here's the latest sculture from Brett Dickins, this one titled Butterfly Effect.

From the video description:

One off wooden/polished aluminum gear sculpture featuring a mechanical butterfly which takes a different flight path on each revolution of the main gear. Other features include small gears on the body of the butterfly which rotate, and the introduction of polished metals as a new material in my work.

Here is where you can see unedited footage of the Butterfly Effect sculpture

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Moving-eyed monster clock by Dug North now on display

I combined my love of clocks with my affinity for wooden monsters to create this new piece. The monster is made of basswood, ebony, and tagua nut. A small weight-driven German-made clock movement powers the eyes and clock. It is titled simply "Monster Clock No. 1", which implies I may be making more of these!

The monster clock is part of an art exhibition titled "All Creatures, Real & Imagined" at The Arts League of Lowell Gallery in Lowell, Massachusetts. The show runs from June 6th to July 13th. The Reception for the show will be Saturday, June 21 from 4 PM to 6 PM. The piece can be purchased from the gallery at this time.

What
All Creatures, Real & Imagined

Where
The Arts League of Lowell Gallery
307 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: 978-221-5018

When
June 6th to July 13th, 2014
Wednesday - Saturday: 12 - 6 PM
Sunday: 12 - 4 PM

Here is where you can see more work by automaton artist Dug North.

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Variation II Sun - wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy

Check out the latest beautiful and mesmerizing kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy! The piece provides a variety of kaleidoscopic patterns ranging from sunbursts, to solar flares, pinwheels, and spinning circles.

From the artist's web site:

Variation Sun has gone through lots of iterations. It proved a more challenging design than I had originally imagined. I wanted an asymmetric design where the points of the arc of one wheel followed the back of the arc of the adjacent wheel. I also wanted the clockwise pattern to be different than the counterclockwise pattern. It was easy to do on the computer but hard to find real world shapes that would balance. The double arc design solved the problem and I think enhanced the design.

Learn more about Variation II Sun by David C. Roy on his web site.

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Spring-driven kinetic sculpture that operates for 15 hours on one winding

Here is another graceful and compelling wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy. This one is titled Variation II Wave.

From the artist's web site:

Variation II Wave is the result of applying what I've learned mechanically to the Variation concept. The mechanism is a single spring drive that delivers about 15 hours of run time. Part of the efficiency is due to a better use of bearings and part to how the mechanism itself is balanced.

Here is where you can learn more about Variation II Wave by David C. Roy.

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New wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy is mesmerizing

This new piece kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy is the combination of two innovations he has recently made in mechanism design. Titled Swoop, the mechanism pushes the parts through an angle of 60 degrees -- much smaller than most of his previous pieces. He combined this new mechanism with a technique that allows the front wheel to move in the opposite direction (without having a drive belt running directly in front of it). Those two innovations allowed him to finally create the a certain motion he remembered from the Howdy Doody film in his childhood.

Swoop Technical Details:

• Number: Limited Edition of 95
• Size: 29"h x 23"w x 5"d
• Power Source: Constant Force Spring
• Run Time: Approximately 10 hours per winding

The mechanism for Swoop works well on fairly small scale, which means that it is very suitable for display in the home.

Here is where you can get more details, see additional photographs, see the film that inspired the artist, and order the Swoop wall-mounted kinetic sculpture.

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Antique wall-mounted automaton by the French maker Tharin

This wall-mounted automaton by the French maker Tharin is currently for sale on eBay. The automaton figures are hand-painted paper and depict a nineteenth century lady and gentleman at a well.

It's hard to tell from the photo shown here, but the well emits a stream of "water" which is really a rod of glass that has been twisted into a spiral shape. When set it motion, it creates a it creates a convincing effect. The eBay listing has a close up shot of this often-used mechanical illusion.

From the eBay description:

The music box plays two tunes while the automaton picture has 6 moving parts. The ladies head moves up and down, the gentleman's head and hand move, the dog and horses head move up and down to drink water. There is also a special piece in the center, a turning glass cane that makes the simulation of water. All the mechanical parts are intact and original. The music box plays for half a minute.

I am always amazed at how delicate and spidery the works are for these old wall-mounted paper automata. Somehow that assemblage of tangled wires and thin strings continue to run after 100 (and sometimes 200 or 300) years. The eBay listing has some wonderful shots of the mechanism as seen from the back.

The automaton has an integrated music box which plays two tunes. These are changed by pulling on a dedicated string. The piece measures 15 1/2" x 18 3/4" inches.

Here is where you can see this Antique wall-mounted automaton by the French maker Tharin.

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Variation Fractal - wooden kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy

Here is another amazing wall-mounted wooden sculpture by David C. Roy called Variation Fractal. Made in 2004, this piece is part of a larger series in which Roy continued to experiment with the patterns created by six overlapping wheels orbiting a common center, each holding a particular orientation by rotating in the opposite direction from its orbital motion.

From the artist's web site:

Variation-Fractal is the final design of the 2004 Variation series. In this piece I've been exploring the "reverse gear" effect that occurs at the center of the upper wheel assembly. I experimented with a number of forms before settling on the spiral form. I liked the way the "reverse gear" constantly changed form through the period of the motion.

Other works in this series of kinetic sculptures include Variation Fire, Variation Wind, and Variation Stars.

Visit the Wood That Works web site to see more kinetic sculptures by David C. Roy.

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Wall-mounted wooden marble machine with weight-driven escapement

Derek Hugger wrote in to say that he has spent the past few months designing a fully mechanical marble machine. Titled Kinestrata, the assembly is driven by a 2 1/2 pound weight via the classic Graham Escapement -- named for George Graham (1673-1751)an English clockmaker and inventor who is thought to have created it around 1715.

Kinestrata measures 11 x 17 x 5 inches and contains some 386 parts. The balls roll down 4 unique tracks and are lifted back to the top of the machine by 3 geared lifter rings. Hugger says that it took roughly 400 hours to design and build! Plans should be available for it in the next month or two. We'll keep you posted!

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Is Is - another fascinating wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky

Check out the latest wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky. This hand-cranked piece is titled Is Is. As is often the case with her work, found objects are assembled into new elaborate mechanical configurations that spin, swing, slap, ratchet, and creak. Mundane objects, often of no use to anyone, suddenly do unexpected things.

I particularly like the use of ball-chain for some of the connections in this piece. You could spend a long time trying to figure out where the various parts came from. The top arch piece looks to be from the bed segment of a typewriter. It's great to see new life breathed into such venerable mechanical parts.

See more wall mounted kinetic sculptures by Gina Kamentsky on her web site.

[ Thanks Aaron! ]

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Model car integrated into wall mounted kinetic gear train sculpture

Check out this new wall mounted kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickens. We're not unfamiliar with the his wooden gear sculptures, but this one has an interesting addition: a 1:25 scale model of a 1948 Ford Woody Wagon. The Woody is situated above a ramp, which is set into motion by the gear train. Once the ramp meets the wheels, the car goes for a ride.

See more kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickins on his YouTube channel.

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Hayling Billy steam railway wall mounted automaton by Tom Bennett

The piece shown above by artist Tom Bennett was commissioned to go in The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre Havant. It is a working representation of a the Hayling Billy steam railway, which operated between Havant and the holiday location of Hayling Island on the south coast for 100 years.

From the artist's web site:

The principal aim of the piece was bring to life the history of the railway in a way that would engage the imagination, particularly the young. It was to be part of a larger project designed to explore the history of the borough by means of a timeline, videos, artifacts and other interactive activities. Operated by hand and with the sounds of the engine chuffing and whistling, the train moves from past to present in a landscape filled with local history. On its way it passes tunnels, bridges, a turning windmill ending up at the seaside with bathers jumping up and down in the sea.

You can see more photographs and read about this autamaton and many other automata on Tom Bennett's web site.

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Stylish sand timer sculpture from Laikingland and Maarten Baas

Shown here is a piece by the clever folks at Laikingland titled Just About Now. Developed in collaboration with Maarten Baas, this wall-mounted kinetic sculpture is actually a sand timer that indicates the passing of time with the sound of a gong.

According to Maarten Baas: I've always had an interest in ways to indicate time. In spite of the fact that time is very abstract and very relative, in the western world it's normal to indicate time very precisely. Apart from things like train schedules or the duration of sporting games, the exact time is often irrelevant. A coffee break, a meditation, a nap, a business meeting, they could take a few minutes longer or shorter than an exact amount of time. This is why I wanted to create a timer that bangs a gong, more or less after the amount of time you indicated.

Details of the piece
Year: 2012
Materials: Oak, glass, ceramic, sand, brass
Dimensions: Height 320 mm Width 435 mm Depth 185mm
Power: Sand
Color: Natural
Availability: September 2012

For information on price and availability please contact the Laikingland team at enquiries@laikingland.co.uk

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Labyrinth: wall-mounted kinetic wooden sculpture by David C. Roy

Here is a new wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by David C. Roy entitled Labyrinth. Roy was inspired by an animation he found showing the optical effect created when layers of parallel lines are rotated in opposite directions. This simple concept, turned out to be a significant mechanical challenge, taking Roy some 5 years to perfect in physical form. The time and effort were worth it. The final sculpture shown in the video produces a beautiful motion and effect, is easy to operate and will run for a full 12 hours. There is a detailed recounting of the creation process on the artist's blog.

You can learn more about the Labyrinth kinetic sculpture on the woodthatworks.com site.

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Wall-mounted kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky

Check out this awesome new kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky. This piece is titled Si C C señor!. See (oops, now I'm doing it!) if you can figure out why.

I love how all of the various found objects are integrated in this work of art. An assemblage of unrelated things not only seem to belong together, but move together in diverse and interesting ways. Just look at how beautiful the lines are against a wall:

See more kinetic sculpture by Gina Kamentsky on her web site.

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