open studio: kinetic study of bees /  by kelly heaton

Bees will be flying as part of "Pollination," my upcoming solo show at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, opening September 12th and on view through October 17.  Please check back for more images of works-in-progress as the bees and I get ready for our big show.

Kinetic Study of Bees, 2014.  Small pager motors and an analog motion detector control the movement of this sculpture as though a swarm of bees. Other materials include a custom control circuit, homemade springs, electrical wire, fishing swivels, tape and string.

open studio: making a big bee resistor /  by kelly heaton

The process of making a larger-than-life resistor, modeled by hand to look like a bee


Big bee resistor after epoxy buddy is applied and sculpted.  Next, the sculpture will be painted

 

news: wave and particle group show opens 02/14/15 /  by kelly heaton

I am pleased to announce that work from Live Pelt (2003) will be included in a group show to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of Creative Capital.  Wave and Particle opens February 14th (reception 6-8pm) and runs through March 21.  Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, 31 Mercer Street  NYC 10013.  Open Tues through Saturday 10am - 6pm or by appointment.

http://blog.creative-capital.org/2015/02/ronald-feldman-fine-art-presents-wave-particle/

open studio: making a person-sized capacitor /  by kelly heaton


Welding the seam of 22 gauge steel to make a shape resembling a ceramic capacitor.  This will serve as an armature.  Finishing work will be done with Bondo and sanding to hide imperfections, such as the dimples caused by the pining hammer.

Two circles of 22 gauge steel were shaped using techniques from old-fashioned auto body repair.  Repeated tapping with a pining hammer introduces a gentle curve to the steel by stretching the metal incrementally.  The same method was used to define the channel where the capacitor leg attaches.  A slapper was used to counteract the effects of excessive or uneven pining (a slapper will flatten metal out).  For more information on manual techniques in auto body shaping: http://www.metalshapingzone.com.  Their how-to video is well-worth the money.  Classic car restoration tools can be found on eBay.

The two halves of the capacitor head were welded together (and sometimes brazed with a filler rod because it is easy to blow a hole through thin steel when you are torch welding).  Clamps were used to hold the seam together as close to the weld as possible, as steel wants to warp or shift when it gets hot.  The legs of the capacitor are hollow steel tube filled with sand to prevent the tube from collapsing when shape was introduced with heat and hammering.  Once the legs were shaped, I removed the caps (holding in the sand) and welded the legs to the head of the capacitor.

Photos: Kelly Heaton and Sarah Loy

open studio: wiring the wedding tree /  by kelly heaton

More photos of The Wedding Tree in progress.  Colorful wires weave up a metal-frame mobile to provide electricity to motors with propellors (that fly like bees).  The background drawing is pastel on paper.  Photo credit: Kelly Heaton and Sarah Loy.  2013 - 2015

open studio: electrifying the wedding tree /  by kelly heaton

Building the circuit for The Wedding Tree (work-in-progress).  Analog electronic components are pegged through heavy watercolor paper and soldered together to drive LEDs and pager motors.  Photo credit: Sarah Loy

open studio: brass skep /  by kelly heaton

Finishing the brass skep with an oxy-acetylene torch and bronze brazing rods.  Surface color was controlled with torch work and a lemon-salt solution; detail was re-introduced with a die grinder.  The last image shows a system for hanging the 100 pound sculpture, which will premier at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in September 2015

open studio: ramayana, 2012 /  by kelly heaton

Detail of Kelly Heaton's, "Ramayana," 2012. Conductive ink, electronics and gauche on paper. 15" x 15.5" unframed

In Fall 2012, while The Parallel Series was on exhibit in New York, I finished reading the great Hindu epic, "Ramayana."  I highly recommend the translation by Ramesh Menon.  Menon's two-volume version of the Mahabharata is also excellent.

Conductive ink was used to draw this illustration of Rama in meditation; and also defines resistors for the circuit which illuminates his chakras. Nine volts of electricity flows throughout his figure: 6 volts from the alkaline battery at his base, plus 3 volts from the coin cell at his crown. 

The width and length of a line drawn with conductive ink determines resistance: wider and shorter lines give less resistance than do longer and skinnier. Electronic parts, such as transistors and LEDs, are connected to these "ink resistors" with a pressure contact (made possible with tiny bolts).

This work is available for sale through Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York, NY