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Shimmer

Limited Edition of 75
Size: 36"h x 45"w x 6"d
Power Source: spring
Approximate Run Time: 12 hours

Shimmer ©2009
Price: $1695 

Shimmer is the second sculpture I've created using this patterning wheel. I created the first, Radiance, in 2007. At the time I designed Radiance I was torn between two different ways to control the motion of the wheels. One mechanism allowed each wheel to move independently, creating random patterns as the wheels sped up and slowed down at their own pace. An alternative mechanism synchronized the motion of the wheels so they always move at the same pace but in opposite directions.

Radiance was the result of the random design mechanism. When given a choice I like to take the random road!

I finished the edition of Radiance last year. It was a very popular sculpture and I kept getting calls from people looking for one. That got me thinking about the alternative design again. I decided to finish the design and make a test piece. The result is Shimmer.

This is a virtually silent, long running sculpture. The motion starts very slowly, smoothly accelerates, reaches a peak, and then smoothly decelerates, comes to rest, reverses direction and repeats the cycle but with the wheels going in the opposite direction. This creates two distinct patterns, one with the center of the wheel appearing to grow and one with the center appearing to shrink.

I still can't decide between the two sculptures. I like the relaxing feel, silence, and dramatic patterns of Shimmer but I'm still drawn to the energy and randomness of the Radiance. In the realm of problems this is a nice one to have!