Mobiles are a type of balanced kinetic sculptures.
A balanced kinetic sculpture is a piece of artwork that incorporates movement and also is balanced upon a single point within the work. The movement in this type of sculpture comes from the air, electronics or the viewer's touch, and sculptures come in many different forms. The mobile, for example, is a type of balanced kinetic sculpture that hangs from the top. Creating a balanced kinetic sculpture requires planning and patience.
Instructions
Wooden base
1. Drill a small hole into the center of a wood block using a drill. Use the smallest diameter drill bit that allows the 18-gauge wire to slide through the hole.
2. Cut a piece of 18-gauge copper wire 7 or 8 inches long with wire cutters.
3. Bend the cut piece of copper wire into the shape of a shepherd's hook using your hands and needle nose pliers. The wire will have one bend downward that is long and sloping. At the tip of the downward bend, create an upward hook.
4. Place the straight section of the copper wire into the wooden block.
5. Use wood putty to hold the piece of copper wire in place. Allow it to dry.
6. Cut a 12-inch piece of 18-gauge copper wire with the wire cutters.
7. Bend the 12-inch piece of copper wire in half.
8. Pull the ends in the opposite direction to create a small loop in the middle of the wire. Use the pliers to shape the loop. Test to make sure the wire is balanced by dangling the wire from the pliers. If the wire is not balanced, start over and make a new loop in the center of the wire.
9. Bend the long piece of wire into many different shapes on each side of the long piece of wire. Be creative. Make sloping curves or tight spirals, for example.
10. Slide beads, buttons or other items onto the long piece of wire. Keep the weight of the items being added to the long piece of wire roughly the same on each side.
11. Bend the end portions of the long piece of wire so the additional decorations will not slide off.
12. Hang the long piece of wire from the hook on the short piece of wire. The loop created in Step 8 should slide onto the hook and balance the sculpture.
Mobile
13. Cut three, 7-inch pieces of copper wire with wire cutters.
14. Lay out the wire in the shape of the mobile. Arrange the wires so they are slightly offset from one another. For example, the wires create a stair step design going toward the right or left.
15. Attach any decorative pieces to the bottom piece of the mobile first. The decoration can be anything from butterflies, buttons or other designs. Keep the weight of this bottom piece light as possible.
16. Find the center of balance for the piece of wire with the decorations attached. Attach the fishing line to this position on the wire.
17.Attach the opposite end of the fishing line to the end of the copper wire piece above it. Bend the copper wire with the pliers so the line does not slip off.
18. Attach decorations to the opposite end of the copper wire to help balance out the mobile. The weight of the decorations should be more than the weight of the decorations of the section below it.
19. Find the balance point of the second section of copper wire with the pliers. Attach the fishing line to this section.
20. Repeat steps 5 through 7 for the final section of the mobile. The mobile should be balanced at all levels and should freely float.
