Next…a big project (and this one will be available for sale)
- At November 16, 2013
- By John Wiese
- In Art, Mobiles
0
After my last mobile (Dancer #6) it is time for something significant, and by significant I mean a really large project.
I have just added my 9th element and this piece is already 1.3m wide x 1.4m high, making it my largest mobile to date and I’m not finished yet.
This piece is going to need a home in a mansion or corporate space!
Painting this piece is also causing me a dilemma. I have been doing various test pieces over the last month using Oils and Acrylics, but at this stage I don’t think I can give up my original painting style. The brushwork on Dancer #6 I find really pleasing, and while I like my test pieces I don’t think I am ready to move away from my original styling.
Below is a teaser shot taken with my iPhone of the first five elements.
Completed Mobile – Dancer No.6
- At November 16, 2013
- By John Wiese
- In Art, Mobiles
- 0
Finished the mobile, this one has found a home in my office where I enjoy its company each day.
Dancer #6 - Kinetic mobile by John Wiese
Side view - leg to left, hand stretching above head to the right
The installed mobile. 48cm x 34cm (W x H)
Mobile #6 – a work in progress
- At July 29, 2013
- By John Wiese
- In Art, Mobiles
- 0
Just about finished a new mobile for my own office. After creating two large works, this will be my first formal small mobile (not a practice piece).
Kinetic Mobile #6 - Original Design by Wiese
My concept is a dancer stretching a leg out horizontally to the right while an arm is reaching back behind the head to the left.
As my office sees a lot of traffic, this new work has to be relatively shallow as I want it to move in response to people entering the room, but obviously not get bumped physically.
So I started by sketching my first designs on an A3 page in landscape format. This gave me a mobile much wider than it was tall. It also meant this work would be easy to transport (vs Dancers Touch which is a monster by comparison).
Wiese hanging kinetic Mobile #6 - 4 Elements
Next came the iPad to refine the design. I love the Brushes app as it lets me sketch different connections and flick between them without having to redraw everything.
The time consuming part of this mobile was once again in the design and placement of the wires. I’d say 3 weeks of thought went into this work before I was ready to pick up tools.
However the small scale of the work introduced two new challenges:
- Close proximity between each of the elements
- Achieving graceful ‘rhythm’ between elements using only short linkages
This mobile also gave me a crash course in Physics 101. Hmmm. I use plate steel not aluminium so the large disks are very heavy relative to smaller ones. With a small mobile this means short element arms significantly limit my options with regard to balance points. (ie – each time you double the size of a disk you need to double the length of the lever arm, or do something clever).
Wiese hanging kinetic Mobile #6 - 6 Elements
Anyway what this all meant was half way through the hands-on phase I realised my original design wasn’t feasible, so out came the iPad again for another week until I had a redesign I was happy with.
Having signed the work, now to finish painting it…
…in the end I like the finished mobile more the the original concept drawing. I’ll post the finished work in the next week or so.
Wiese Mobile #6 - All 11 elements pre-painting & assembly