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This is a series of mobiles I made since 2010. I've made mobiles before but only the kind that hang. Most of these have bases and are somewhat more difficult to make. I don't work from plans or drawings. I start with a rough idea in my mind and start gathering materials. There are video clips of some of these mobiles on my Youtube site.
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Mobile' #64. (2018) Approx. 16 in.H x 15 in. W. Made from mild steel with colored glass inserts. | click on image to see larger view |
Mobile' #63. (2018) Approx. 10 in.H x 11 in. W. Made from painted mild steel with colored glass inserts. |
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Mobile #62. (2018) Approx.11 in. H x 12 in. W. Made from recycled, unpainted steel. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #61. (2017) Approx.48 in. H x 34 in. W. Made from recycled steel and found broken auto tail lights. Painted dark bronze. |
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Mobile #60. (2017) Approx.29 in. H x 15 in. W. My Trefoil Knot mobile'. No new material was used to make this mobile'. The wood is Douglas fir. The counter weights on the top part is 1/4 in. steel rods with 8 oz. lead balls on the ends (fishing sinkers). All the steel is painted black. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #59. (2017) Approx.16 in. H x 10 in. W. No new material was used to make this mobile'. All steel, painted black. Red auto plastic inserts at the arm ends (broken car tail lights). |
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Mobile #58. (2016) Approx.22. in. H x 28 in. W. No new material was used to make this mobile'. The yellow elements are slices of tree branches that fell in my yard. The arms are bamboo and they are linked to each other with fishing tackle swivels. The top bar is metal. The string is hemp twine. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #57. (2016) Approx.30. in. H x 40 in. W. No new material was used to make this mobile'. The base is welded rebar, a part of a car transmission and three really big nails. The top part is welded steel with auto plastic inserts (broken car tail lights collected from accident sites). All the steel is painted black. |
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Mobile #56. (2016) Approx.5 ft. H x 3 ft. W. No new material was used to make this mobile'. The base is welded rebar. The top part is welded steel with auto plastic inserts (broken car tail lights collected from accident sites). All the steel is painted black. | ||
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Mobile #55. (2015) Approx.3 ft. H x 8 ft. W. The base is a maple tree branch. The tear drop shaped elements are assorted wood species: cedar, maple, eucalyptus, plum. All the wood is stained the same color, with a coat of satin varnish. All the rods are steel, painted black. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #54. (2015) Approx.4 ft. H x 3 ft. W. The arms are fiberglass rods and the elements at their ends are made of cedar and redwood. |
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Mobile #53. (2015) Approx.28 in. H x 20 in. W. Made from welded steel (rebar, lag bolts, angle iron, steel rings and auto tail light plastic. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #52. (2015) Approx.6 in. H x 3 in. W. Made from black steel wire, epoxy putty, and painted paper. |
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Mobile #51. (2015) Approx.6 in. H x 3.5 in. W. Made from black steel wire. | ||
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Mobile #50. (2014) A standing mobile (prototype). Approx.10.5 in. H x 3 in. W. made from steel cans. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #49. (2014) A pendulum type standing mobile. Titled "Shake Well". Approx.9 in. H x 2 in. W. made of steel wire and sheet metal. |
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Mobile #48. (2014) A standing mobile. Approx.10 in. H x 5 in. W. made of steel. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #47. (2014) A standing mobile. Approx.11.5 in. H x 7.5 in. W. made of steel. Sold |
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Mobile #46. (2014) A standing mobile. Approx.6 ft. H x 24 in. W. welded, painted steel and wood, stained glass. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #45. (2014) A table top mobile. Approx.25 in. H x 15 in. W. stained rosewood, painted steel and plastic, glass doorknobs. |
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Mobile #44. (2014) A standing mobile. Pivot-on-point style. Painted hand-bent wire on a wooden stand. approx.8 in. H x 5 in. W. Sold |
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Mobile #43. (2014) A hanging mobile. Approx.18 in. H x 18 in. W. painted steel. |
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Mobile #42. (2014) "Acrobats". A hanging mobile. Approx.8 ft. H x 3 ft. W. painted welded steel. |
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Mobile #41. (2014) A pivot-on-point style mobile'. Approx.11 in. H x 11 in. W. painted welded steel. |
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Mobile #40. (2014) A standing mobile. Pivot-on-point style. Approx.9.5 in. H x 6 in W x 11 L. Made from welded steel. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #39. (2014) A standing mobile. Pivot-on-point style. Approx.17 in. H x 14 in W. Hand crafted from aluminum. |
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Mobile #38. (2014) A hanging mobile. Approx.14in. H x 20 in W. Made from steel, painted black, white, yellow and red. Completely hand-crafted. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #37. (2014) A standing mobile. Approx.8 in. H x 4 in W. Made from steel painted satin black. with a stained maple wood base. Sold |
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Mobile #35. (2013) A standing mobile. Approx.35 in. H x 14 in W. Made from eucalyptus and maple wood, painted satin black.
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Mobile #36. (2013) A standing mobile. Approx.9 in. H x 9 in W. Made from steel and brass, painted satin black.
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Mobile #16. (2012) "Little Red". Approx. 2.5" h with a 4" sweep. Hand made from broken tail light plastic and wire. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #17. (2012) Approx. 7 " h with a 7 " sweep. Hand made from broken tail light plastic, wire and aluminum. |
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Mobile #18. (2012) Approx. 9 " h with a 7 " sweep. Hand made from broken tail light plastic and wire. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #19. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 2.75 " h with a 4.5" sweep. Hand made from sheet aluminum and wire. SOLD |
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Mobile #20. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 2" h with a 2.5" sweep. Hand made from sheet brass. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #21. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 5" h with a 6 " sweep. Hand made from sheet aluminum and rosewood. |
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Mobile #22. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 4 " h with a 3 " sweep. Hand made from sheet aluminum and wire. Stand is painted resin. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #23. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 4" h with a 10" sweep. Hand made from painted wooden discs and wire. Base is aluminum and steel. |
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Mobile #24. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 4.5 " h with a 7" sweep. Hand made from sheet aluminum stock. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #25. (2012) The same mobile as #6, refurbished and painted. Approx. 24 " h with a 36 " sweep. Hand made from eucalyptus wood and bamboo. Destroyed |
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Mobile #26. (2012) Large hanging type. Approx. 36 " h with a 9 ft. sweep. Hand made from steel rods and painted sheet aluminum stock. Moves with the slightest of air currents. My largest mobile so far. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #27. (2012) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 5 " h with a 9 " sweep. Hand made from wood. Sold |
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Mobile #28. (2012) (same as #22 but with a taller stand) A pivot-on-point type. Approx. 10 " h with a 4.5 " sweep. Base is made from painted resin and steel. "Man" is made from sheet aluminum. Hand made. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #29. (2012) A hanging mobile. Approx. 9 ft. h with a 6 ft. sweep. Hand made from aluminum with fibeglass rods. This hanging mobile is different than most because the elements go progressively higher instead of the usual downward progression. This one is too light to be displayed outside because the wind would thrash it to pieces within minutes. Displayd indoors, this mobile moves with the slightest air currents. |
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Mobile #30. (2012) A pivot-on-point type. Approx. 4.75" h with a 7 " sweep. Base is made from painted resin and steel. The ball is wood and the "arms" are heavy wire. Hand made. This one was a real challenge to balance. SOLD. |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #31. (2012) A pivot-on-point type. Approx.6 ft. H with a 6 ft. sweep. Base is made from stained eucalyptus branches (base), plum tree slices and bamboo, with a cedar counterweight. The main arm is made from an old heavy duty fishing rod.. Hand made. This one's in my front yard in this photo. |
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Mobile #32. (2012) A hanging mobile. Approx.1 ft. H with a 3 ft. sweep. Made from wire, aluminum scraps and bits of a broken 1st surface mirror (that's a mirror that has its reflective surface on the front surface of the glass, in this case, on both sides of the glass). It looks like shattered glass floating in mid air. Sold |
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Mobile #33. (2012) A table top hanging mobile. Approx.16 in. H x 14 in, with a 11 in. sweep. Made from wire, laser-cut plastic hexagons. Base is red painted aluminum on rosewood. |
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Mobile #34. (2012) A wall hanging mobile. Approx.11 in. H x 8 in W. Made from wire. This mobile was a crude test model to see if my idea works. It does, so I'll make a better version of this from other materials. |
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Mobile #7. (2011) Made from end cuts and scraps of construction lumber, some with weathered paint. No fasteners used; all joints are glued. Mobile elements are hung with waxed hemp twine. Wood finished with linseed oil. Approx. 18" high, with about a 4 ft. swing diameter. This is another point-pivot mobile. Looks a little precarious in motion but I've had it outside all day and night on a windy day and it never had any problems. |  Click on image to view full size. |
Mobile #8. (2011) A table top model, made from eucalyptus branch slices (painted red), a slice from a plum branch (base), wire and string. A very deep split in the base was filled with pieces of abalone shell mixed with epoxy resin. This piece is about 22 inches tall. |
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Mobile #9. (2011) A hanging mobile, roughly 20 x 20 inches, made from maple branch sections (painted yellow), bamboo rods and wire. When at rest, this mobile's elements hang in a spiral pattern. |  Click on image to view full size |
Mobile #10. (2011) A 16" high table top model made from 1/16" sheet aluminum, steel wire and a small piece of cedar where the arm connects to the base. All fabrication of this piece was done with hand tools. |
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Mobile #11. (2011) A table top model, 14" high. The base is Plum wood, the hanging elements are Mahogany. |  Click on image to view full size |
Mobile #12. (2011) A table top model, 13" high. All wire construction. The base is a piece of Eucalyptus branch. |
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Mobile #13. (2011) A hanging model, approx. 18" h with a 48" sweep. Wire and bamboo arms, with mirrors. (photographed in front of one of my paintings.) SOLD |  click on image to view full size |
Mobile #14. (2011) A hanging model, approx. 18" h with a 16" sweep. Made with wire and stained glass scraps. |
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Mobile #15. (2011) Pivot-on-point type. Approx. 2.75 " h with a 4" sweep. Hand made from sheet aluminum. |
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Mobile #1: (2010) Made from Gravenstien apple branches. The top, painted, part pivots on the pointed top of the base. The base was made by tying live apple branches around a small stone and left to grow together around the stone. There is no wood putty or filler used here. This piece is about 9" high with a 6" sweep (diameter of the circle described by rotation of moble.) |  Click on image to view full size. |
Mobile #2. (2010) A small table top model. Several kinds of wood were used; eucalyptus, cedar, maple, oak, all from my yard. The mobile pivots on the point of the base (wood against wood). 12" high with an 18" sweep. |
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Mobile #3. (2010) Made from cedar and eucalyptus. It's about 2 ft. high with a 6 ft. sweep. This piece withstood 45 mph. winds with surprising stability and graceful movement. Sold |
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Mobile #4. (2010) Constructed from wire, bamboo skewers and painted slices of a eucalyptus branch. The slices mounted vertically on one side, horizontal on the other. It's about 20" high with a 36" sweep. This entire piece weighs only about 4 oz. but is very stabile in the wind. It is quite graceful in a windy location. It's movements are hypnotic, and it often moves in unexpected ways. This way rebuilt in 2016 and renumbered as #58 |
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Mobile #5. (2010) Made from a "dummy" CD (the clear one from a bulk pack) with an indented metal disk in its center for the pivot cup, wire, painted cardstock and fishing weights. The base is a eucalyptus branch painted black. It's about 14" high, with an 8" sweep. Very stablile. This one is for indoor use only. Looks like something Calder himself might have made, or George Jetson might own. |  Click on image to view full size. |
Mobile #6 (2010) Made from a eucalyptus branch junction and slices from a thicker branch. The black arms are bamboo, and they swing on black fishing swivels. The swivel at the top of the stand turns on a ball bearing ring. The counter balance is a very dense stone fastened to the arm with epoxy. Approx. 2 ft. H with a swing diameter just over 3 ft. SOLD |