Do you remember the first rolling ball kinetic sculpture you experienced? I know the first time I viewed one. We (David and I) were captivated and stayed watching every ball for a very long time. I am sure it was a George Rhoades creation but I am not sure if it was the one in the United terminal at Logan Airport in Boston or the one at the Boston Science Museum. We visited both many times over the years. The art of rolling ball sculptures has come a very long way yet many of the initial actions from those early designs keep reappearing. This week the blog world is alive witih the recently shared work of Swiss sculptor Paul Grunbacher.
Videos of seven wonderful, entertaining and beautifully crafted wooden marble machines have been posted for all of us to enjoy.
Regenschiff (Rain Ship) - 2009
These videos where assembled for a March 17th article in Woodgears which is a woodworking site for engineers. I know there are many engineers that follow my work and you might want to journey over to that site for some interesting exploring.
Archimedis - 2012
Mr. Grundbacher shares that he doesn't work from plans or even advanced planning. He builds by tinkering. He "plans" directly in wood most of which is ash, maple and linden firewood from a local factory.
Etagen ( Floors) -2010 - Inspired by the videos shared by Denha
Quatro- 2010 - Quatro was inspired by the work of Brad Litwin.
Fischtreppe ( Fish Ladder) - 2010
Lift- 2009 Based on a design by M. Wandel
Chaos - 2009 - This is Paul's first design and he used many ideas he'd gathered from around the web including an article at Woodgears that includes 12 construction videos for tutorials.
Do you have a favorite?