WHIRLIGIGS
Whirligigs are objects
that move with the wind. One can see them frequently in the Northeast
USA and Canada, they can take many shapes: birds with flapping wings,
lumberjack splitting logs, etc.
I found them amusing and
decided to try my hand at them.
HOOPOE
I had the inspiration for
the first one from a hoopoe I saw at myrna and dieter 's place.
the hoopoe is a funny
bird with a long beak and beautiful colored wings. It is quite
frequent in umbria during spring and summer but migrates south in the
fall. It has a playful flying pattern and loves to knock at our
windows for some unknown reason.
Not being specially
talented for drawing I simplified the shape of the hoopoe retaining
mostly its long beak and the striped wings.
It took me quite a few
trials to get the wings in the right position so they would turn, but
the result is funny and the wings do turn.
See it in motion here.
See it in motion here.
TOUCAN
I brought back from a trip
a toucan bird in papier maché, i liked the colors and the strong
beak of the bird. That one was « perched » in a tree in
our parking and died of old age attacked by the elements and by ants
and birds which must have like the feel o f attacking papier maché.
Maybe too many colors
which means it is difficult to differentiate between the body and the
wings.
See it in motion here.
BETSY PLAYING THE VIOLA DI GAMBA
Betsy was the inspiration
for that one. The complication was to transfer the movement of the
propeller, a rotation, into a linear movement for the arm pushing the
imaginary bow across the viola. It was fun to find a solution even
if it is not perfect, but the arm does move across the viola. I like
the shape of the viola!
RYU
In a french comic strips a
plane is attacked by a flying dragon, a ryu in Japanese mythology. I
gave the ryu a funny body shape and added « wing-paws »
to create movement. The scale pattern on the body took a while but
enhanced the general look of the beast.
See it in motion here.
See it in motion here.
DANGER IN THE POOL
See it in motion here.
Another piece inspired by Betsy and her love of swimming in the pool. That one stayed idle for
many months. I wanted to build it with a « lifters »
system like valves in a car. It required some rods riding on an
ex-centric shaft which would transfer an up and down movement to the
arm and leg of the swimmer. It just did NOT work and I abandoned the
project for a full winter. When I started again I decided to make
it simpler: use a plastic sheet for the surface of the water and
connect the arm and leg with metal wire to a crankshaft. Also I decided
to spike it up with an extra presence behind the swimmer. I had fun
painting the bloody mouth of the shark. When I showed it to Betsy
she added music and the result is fun. May need some decoration on the
box though to make it funnier.
See it in motion here.
BACK FROM TT.
Upon coming back from Tall Timber where we did enjoy delicious lobsters, I realized lobsters may not share our enthousiasm for lobsters cooked on the rocks. I recalled that lobsters move backwards by snapping their tails, and moving their claws when under threat. It gave me an idea for another whirligig. the pot is boiling and the cover is opening while the lobster (live lobsters are greenish and become red during cooking!) is moving its claws and snapping its tail to get away from the pot.
Here is the result without the "propeller", one needs to turn the handle to see movement.
See it in motion here
 |
| lobster |
 |
| lobster |
Upon coming back from Tall Timber where we did enjoy delicious lobsters, I realized lobsters may not share our enthousiasm for lobsters cooked on the rocks. I recalled that lobsters move backwards by snapping their tails, and moving their claws when under threat. It gave me an idea for another whirligig. the pot is boiling and the cover is opening while the lobster (live lobsters are greenish and become red during cooking!) is moving its claws and snapping its tail to get away from the pot.
Here is the result without the "propeller", one needs to turn the handle to see movement.
See it in motion here
