Arch 101 Final

Humberto J. Gonzalez Fall 2011

Moving Sculptures that Express Self, Place and time.

These are some examples of mobiles created and posted

on the web. I really had no idea what or how to

research, build and ultimately present a thing of beauty such as these. I began by studying some of the mobiles that were on the web. I have always had an affinity for such as these. I began by studying some of the mobiles that were on the web. I have always had an affinity for

flying objects. More specifically, hot air balloons.

The idea that something could hover above ground defying

gravity and yet maintain its location was appealing.

So I began with a iteration of a hot air balloon. The cardboard

tubes to my right were notched with a small craft saw. I joined

them together with a small amount of glue. I used a tiny amount

of aluminum foil (approx 4” square) and rapped it around 4 small

bendable straws. I removed several tea light candles from their

containers to lessen the weight. I placed a plastic bag to capture

hot air from the candles. I got this idea from a you tube video

clip of a father teaching his son.

hot air from the candles. I got this idea from a you tube video

clip of a father teaching his son.

Having attempted this several times, I found it to be difficult and

dangerous.

Kids, do not try this at home.

Needless to say I moved on from the use of fire.

Having drawn a little inspiration from the international

Space Station, I created a small iteration using small pieces

of glass wrapped with a black cloth like tape and coat

hangers to join them together. This iteration broke on the

first day.

The good lesson here was that I was not documenting the

steps necessary to show my process.steps necessary to show my process.

My question now was, do I continue with this project or

start anew?

I decided to start from scratch. Drawing more inspiration from

one of my classmates, who was designing a windmill type of

project using sticks and sails. I attempted to use chopsticks

but they proved to be inferior to nails, tacks or otherwise

because they kept splitting the chopsticks.

I scrounged in the Dept.s scrap corner, and found some plastic

square sticks that had previously drilled holes through them.

This was a good opportunity to utilize already prepped

materials for a prototype.

Using square hooks screwed into a 1 ¼ inch wooden dowel in

a cascading fashion, I applied the plastic sticks onto the

opposite side of the square hooks. I used previously printed

scratch paper as sails to spin the prototype. Attached below a

ceiling fan it spun like a wild top.

I now had an idea and a working prototype. The idea now

was to create a mobile that would spin.

Sometimes I feel that in order to move forward in life, we

need to address the past, or so I feel. So I thought, what if

I created a spinning mobile that could spin in opposite

directions within one system. Representing both the past directions within one system. Representing both the past and the future. How?

I drew up a diagram of the essentials. A tube that would

fit almost snuggly on each end of the 1 ¼ inch wooden

dowel and a way to attach the dowels together on the

inside of the tube.

Using a sturdy saran wrap cardboard tube just slightly wider

than the dowel, it overlapped the edges of each dowel on both

ends creating independent action for each section, allowing

them to spin in whatever direction I designed that section to

spin. The trick here was to use a light switch chain in between

the dowels. These chains are a great example of how each

section (ball) of chain moves independently of the next ball. I

found this type of chain to work better than a swivel because

of the many parts that are independent of each other creating

even more freedom than a swivel.even more freedom than a swivel.

The Idea of how to put the sections all together was easier

than I expected.

Using screw tops from juice bottles, I found that they fit

perfectly inside the cardboard tube, hardly needing the use of

any glue. I continued by punching a hole through the juice

top, large enough to fit the peg in between each ball, and then

sawing from the edge inward towards the hole, allowing me

space to insert the chain into the top that will support the

dowel below inside the tube.

To attach it to the dowel above and below, I modified what is To attach it to the dowel above and below, I modified what is

called a “sex bolt”. Taking the femaie end of the sex bolt, I

sawed it in half through to the center point of the bolt. Again,

allowing me space to slip the chain through the female end of

the bolt.

I now had all my connection figured out.

After drilling a whole in the center of the dowel, I Used a

tiny bit of hot glue in the hole, and then hammered in

the female part of the bolt, with the chain already

installed, leaving three Balls inside the dowel for a better

hold. This proved to be an ideal method for securing the

bolts to the dowels.

Still working on the prototype, I used faux wood

paneling obtained from the scrap corner in the Arch

dept. and hot glued the paneling to the cardboard saran

wrap tube so that it appeared to look like wood.

Although I liked the look of the all wood appearance, I

wanted something with a little more variety. wanted something with a little more variety.

Moving on to the actual project, I found at Scraps Many

useful items.

I found the perfect tubes for the project. These tubes were

perfect because they contained tops as well as the bottoms.

They also were just as sturdy as the saran wrap tube. The soft

plastic caps were much easier to manipulate than the juice

tops. I was able to punch a hole in the center and instead of

cutting from the edge inward, I simply cut a groove from the

center hole out, leaving the perimeter of the cap completely

intact. This gave me just enough space to pull the chain intact. This gave me just enough space to pull the chain

through without breaking the chain.

I also altered the look of the tubes by covering them with faux

aluminum shelving paper. With this shelving paper, I was able

to bend inward the paper inside of the tube essentially sealing

the edge of the tube against water damage.

This view shows the inside of the completed tube and

how the dowels on each end are linked together

The connections for the wooden sticks and sails were a

bit more challenging. Nails and carpet tacks split the

wooden chopsticks, even with pilot holes drilled the sticks

proved to be to fragile. I then used modular phone wire

clips hammered into the dowels which worked fine. A

problem arose when I inserted the chopsticks and plastic problem arose when I inserted the chopsticks and plastic

square sticks through the clips and found it to be

extremely weak.

Knowing that the wooden sticks (chopsticks or small dowels)

could be attached to the dowels by drilling a small hole in it,

I decided instead to drill straight through the dowel to the

other side. I then used longer ¼ inch bass wood dowels and

pushed them through the hole discarding the chopsticks

altogether.

So we used square hooks as one type of connector. We

drilled straight through the 1 ¼ inch dowels to drive the ¼

inch dowels through eliminating the need for “connections”.

For the faux aluminum/cardboard tubes, I wanted to utilize a For the faux aluminum/cardboard tubes, I wanted to utilize a different method. Here what I did was simply cut a notch

diagonally on both sides of the tube and glued the dowels

into the notch.

Attaching the sails was a difficult process. The paper that I

found at Scrap’s to use as sails would not stick to any of

the wood surfaces. I tried Elmer’s glue, hot glue, tacks and

nails to no avail. This was excellent material to use non-

the-less because of how strong the paper was. It seemed to

be a fiberglass type paper. It proved also to be water proof

after leaving a small piece in water for several days. In fact,

it was harder to rip than when it was dry.

I planned on bringing in the paper to consult with the

class but alas; I was at Walgreen’s and saw “super glue” on

I planned on bringing in the paper to consult with the

class but alas; I was at Walgreen’s and saw “super glue” on

sale at a very cheap price. So cheap I could not resist

trying it. It worked beautifully.

The location I chose for my mobile was right smack in

the middle of the courtyard. The location was very

simple to pick because of the variety of wind direction.

Coming from the west over the wall and from the

railing are just two directions. From the south there is

wind coming from the breezeway into the courtyard.

And if we are having great weather, then the wind is

coming from the east. A very rare chance in San

Francisco. Francisco.

Either way, there is plenty of wind to spin the mobile

in opposite directions within the same system.

I used a 50’ Galvanized cable, wrapped around a 2x2

inch block of wood. I pried the wood block behind two

plates on the wall to anchor one end of the cable.

I attached a piece of kite string to the other end of the

cable to lift the cable up to the railing on the other side

of the courtyard and pulled it until I could wedge it

between the wooden rails

Now, you might be asking yourself why I used the

cable instead of just hanging the mobile off the rail.

After all there is still plenty of wind.

The idea again is kind of like life. Do you move

forward and forget the past or do you go back and

address issues that need addressing.

To represent this idea further, I slipped the cable

through a clothes line reel and attached the mobile through a clothes line reel and attached the mobile

to the reel allowing for movement across the

courtyard. Whether it moves forward or backwards

depends again on which direction the wind is

blowing.

I have always considered myself pretty resourceful.

This piece of hardware is what I used to attach the

top of the mobile to the clothes line reel. It is the female end of a quick release key chain. Making female end of a quick release key chain. Making placement and removal of the mobile very simple.

This view is from above behind the

railing.

This is a view of the mobile from

the courtyard.

This is a view from the underside

of the mobile.