“The Team” (A.K.A.) at Maker Faire this year from left to right:
Tal Avitzur, Aaron Geman, Mark Galt, Jonathan Foote, Nemo Gould, Christopher Palmer (CTP).
Something like one hundred thousand people in attendance, and three editors choice ribbons for our booth, I think it was a pretty good year.
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
Big show tonight folks! Don’t come if you don’t like awesome.
305 Center Street, Oakland CA 5-9PM
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
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.
This is my latest attempt to solve the puzzle of user interface. You’re looking at a photography dark room timer routed to a high amp relay. The user pushes the bright red button to activate up to six sculptures plugged in to the back of the box for a period of one to sixty seconds. This provides people with something they can interact with without exposing the art to mishandling. UV LEDs make use of the timers glow in the dark face.
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/
Spent some time recently working out the hips and ankles of a new large Robot Sculpture. Its important that these parts be sturdy and aligned well with one another. This can be pretty tricky when the elements are curved such as these.
This Jacob’s Ladder will the head for a new large scale robot sculpture I’m working on.
This will be the head (I hope) for a new large piece I’m working on. It’s a Jacobs Ladder, meaning that a high voltage electrical arc will repeatedly climb the two long electrodes inside the glass cylinder.
Sometimes the wiring can be the trickiest part. I don’t usually have to draw it out before hand, but this one required it.
Working on a possible new direction. Infinity stack of angry faces?
I’m pretty excited about this little guy so far. The machine shown on the left of the image makes him appear to struggle feebly within his punching bag confinement.
I’ll be showing my piece “The Race” at Unfinished Projects over at MotoSF in San Francisco this Saturday Feb 25th (6-11). I’ll also have one of my trophy head pieces “Heavy Metal” on display.
275 8th Street, 2nd Floor
Here is a link to the Facebook event for more details:
Instructables just posted a nice little interview I did with them last week. It’s pretty general in scope until the end when we get into details about my “Quicksilver Scooter” project that I did a few years ago.
MSN recently produced a little travel segment about Oakland. I was asked to show Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen around my studio and then take a little tour around town. She then returned the favor in her own segment. Check it out!
One of my older (2005) insect pieces was included in a pretty cool survey of wasp themed sculptures over at Environmental Graffiti today:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/art/news-10-amazing-recycled-steampunk-wasps
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.
I’ve been working on a simple little machine to cause an eyeball to track back and forth. So far so good. LED light effects coming up next.
This is a detail shot of my new piece “Conganaut”.
This is a detail of the torso and interior of my new piece “Inward and Onward”.
This is a detail shot of the head of my new piece “Inward and Onward”.
Here is a video of my new piece titled “Conganaut”
