Solar Apparatus, 2021

This kinetic sculpture consists of a 26 inch solid maple ring with brass inlays rotating around 3 planetary gears. There is a ring gear embedded in the maple that meshes with the planetary gears to provide motion to the sculpture. The maple piece is supported and held captive on the frame by the planetary gears only.

This is my latest planetary gear sculpture, which started as a challenge to myself to create a piece the rotates around an axis without a direct connection to that axis. So what I enjoy most about the design is the large void in the center of the sculpture that the maple rotates around.