Kindala - Shadow

About the Kindala Series

A type of pattern creation that has repeatedly frustrated me is one with wheels moving in the same direction. I knew there was some great potential in this area because I could see glimpses of new patterns when I rotated wheels by hand and on the computer screen.  The challenge was to make the wheels move slowly but at different and constantly changing speeds with the goal of producing a kaleidoscopic effect. My first successful attempt evolved into a large fairly complicated one-of-a-kind sculpture called Starscape made in 2007. For the next 8 years or so I dabbled with ideas on the computer and developed several wheel patterns but the mechanism continued to escape me, until early this year. 

Kindala - Shadow is a spring-driven kinetic wall sculpture designed by David C. Roy of Wood That Works in 2016.

I found that by using elements of the mechanisms I had designed for Sky Quest, Dimensions and Infinity I could make a new mechanism that began to produce the motion I wanted. I spent most of 2016 studying and tuning the mechanism, exploring its limits and making it reliable. It turns out making wheels move slowly but not stopping was a challenge but I succeeded. 

Now that I have the mechanism there is a whole world of new patterns to discover. I'm very excited by the potential. So much so that I've decided to produce different Kindala designs in very small editions so I can keep exploring.

Why Kindala? Kindala is a manufactured word I created by combining Mandala and kinetic. I thought this series needed a distinctive moniker. Every design is a circular design like a mandala and they all move but each has visual distinctions in the wheel design.

About Kindala Shadow
With this design I wanted to see what would happen if I used spokes with thicker outside parts and 4 changes in direction. The added wood in the outer ring created a sculpture with a darker visual effect. Shadow seemed like a good fit for this piece.