Soda Bottle Wave

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2009 – 12 ‘x 12′ x 25’ tall recycled two-liter soda bottles, string, wood, steel, one electric motor.

I built the Soda Bottle Wave for the 2009 Maker Faire in San Mateo. First I used my rickshaw to collect two-liter soda bottles from the Berkeley Recycling Center and Alliance Recycling in Oakland. The labels proved very difficult to remove until I figured out that they could be steamed off. After washing and drying 600 bottles I drilled a hole in the bottoms and bolted two together. An eyebolt in the cap provided the articulation. The ring is divided into three wavelengths, so that when you look through the column the opposite side is out of phase. The most gratifying thing about this sculpture was watching kids duck under and play inside of the column of moving bottles.

At the Maker Faire I shared an exhibition booth with a talented group of local kinetic artist started by Nemo Gould and Christopher Palmer called Applied Kinetic Artists (AKA).

Special thanks to Richard Vertz and Cody Wyoming for helping me tackle the veritable mountain of bottles.