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Bill Ooms
Art in Wood -- Other Sculptures
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Many of these sculptures share a common theme of balance, motion, and inspiration from planets. I've made a number of hanging balanced pieces over the years similar to "Saturn" below. The key challenge is to predict where the center of gravity will be after wood is removed during the turning process. I take digital photographs of the starting piece of wood from several directions, then use computer simulation to model where the proper balance point will be after the shape is formed. |
Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.
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"Saturn"
19" High
Wood: Maple Burl
Base: Imbuya
Turned from a solid piece of burl wood, the piece is perfectly balanced and suspended by a thin stainless steel cable.
The cable is attached at the balance point at the center of the inner "ball".
This allows the piece to appear to float in space and gently rotate.
The mounting ring is made from laminated strips of bent wood (Imbuya) that are glued together into a curved shape.
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"Ring World"
15" High
Wood: Buckeye Burl
Base: Laminated Wenge
The solid sphere is Buckeye Burl. Hand-made metal bearings allow
the sphere to rotate in all directions within the rings.
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"Little Ring World
5" High
Wood: Red Mallee Burl
Base: Brass and Red Mallee Burl
This smaller version has support rings made from solid brass which were turned on a metal lathe.
Hand-made metal bearings allow the sphere to rotate in all directions within the rings.
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