Limited Edition of 12
Size: 68”w x 60” h x 10” d (maximum space needed for motion.) 12”w x 48”h when still.
Approximate Run Time: 6 hours +/-
Price: $6000 - opening bid
Sound: Makes soft, wooden clicking noises
Limited Edition of 12
MingleFiddlesticks © 2026
About Fiddlesticks:
For the past three years, I’ve been trying to push the boundaries of the chaotic motion I explored in my sculpture Chaos. I wanted to see what would happen if I introduced a third pendulum into the mix and I had no idea what to expect. I started simply: three straight pendulums stacked so the backmost pendulum supported the middle one, and the middle supported the front.
Then, I just played. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for; I just wanted to observe. I swung the back pendulum through full 360º arcs and watched to see if the others would pick up the motion. I repeated this with each pendulum, studying how they reacted to one another.
When I began making kinetic sculptures more than fifty years ago, I was happy just to create repeated motions. You can see this in my earliest pieces, like Serendipity. They were clock-like, even though my sculptures have never actually told time! Today, my goal is entirely different. I am looking for unpredictable, chaotic motion that possesses a natural, organic fluidity. During those initial experiments with the three pendulums, it was hard to describe exactly what I was seeing, but I knew there was a potential there worth exploring.
I added a spring-driven mechanism similar to the one I developed for Chaos and continued experimenting with different fulcrum lengths and balance points. Slowly, something fascinating began to emerge. The back and middle pendulums started transferring energy between themselves, engaging in a dynamic, back-and-forth dance as they reacted to gravity, momentum and the random inputs of spring energy.
The front pendulum then reacted to the relative motion of the two carrying pendulums behind it, almost like a child reacting to her parents. At times, it was incredibly active, swinging in large, energetic arcs like my youngest granddaughter when she simply needs to move. At other times, it rested almost completely still, just as she does when she finally sleeps.
Once I saw this interaction, the new challenge was figuring out how to sustain it without overpowering that delicate natural balance. I rebuilt the sculpture several times, refining the forms and shifting the balance points. I retuned the mechanism so it worked in harmony with the pendulums and gravity rather than against them. I lived with the sculpture in the studio, and brought it home so Marji and I could observe it in our daily lives, constantly tweaking and refining.
Melding natural gravitational motion with a subtle powering mechanism is a challenge that can only be met with time, patience, and careful observation. The result is Fiddlesticks, a piece that never repeats itself and always has something new to show you. I hope you enjoy watching its kinetic dance as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life.