Choosing a Suitable Stringing Method –
Choosing suitable materials and a hanging method for my mobile has to be one of the most challenging aspects so far. I’m way beyond my comfort zone with this! Noah one of my fellow students shared a link by the creative force that once was, namely David Bowie.
Im going to put what he said here so that when I struggle I’ve got a point of reference to start things moving again.
Today, having produced enough mobile elements to explore hanging and stringing I started running into multiple problems. Some of these included:
1). What kind of stringing method would I like to use
2). How do I arrange the elements neatly enough so that the viewer understands them as binary.
3). What materials should I use to actually string and hang the mobile?
4). Will a smaller prototype actually translate into a much larger one?
The problems above were to name only a few. I spent the evening trying to source suitable hanging materials. I managed to source a very good older pdf on the subject of mobile making which helped a lot!
How to Make Mobiles
Making Mobiles
I found this book particularly useful as it had a comprehensive list of materials.
Making Mobile Elements
Below is a video showing the production of a number of mobile elements for prototyping. At the end of this session of making, there were enough elements to experiment with stringing the mobile. There were approximately 3-4 hours worth of work condensed into this short time-lapse.
Experimentation With Stringing
I really am finding the concept of stringing my mobile really difficult. Please see below for a short time-lapse of my failed experimentation. I knew at this point that I needed to go back to the drawing board!
Stringing Items
After much thought I decided to buy the following items. I chose 2mm thick doweling rods, black tape to secure items, black spray paint to coat the doweling rods, jump rings and some ball chains for hanging.
The Process
My process was as follows. Firstly, I removed all of the sticky labels from the doweling rods. As I didn’t have any acetone it took ages to remove all of the greasy, sticky label residue. Next I spray painted the dowelling rods.
Sticky Label Removal
Removing the labels took quite some time without acetone.
Painting Both Sides of the Dowelling Rods
The Finished Rods
When I placed my mobile elements next to the painted rods I know that painting them black was the right decision. I feel that having plain wooden rods would have detracted from the design.
Adding Jump Rings and Stringing Elements
The short time-lapse video below shows the process of stringing the elements together and ends with a short clip of a few lines of the binary code hanging as a mobile.
First Looks
The video below shows the culmination of the work over the last few days. The filming and editing was ‘quick and dirty’. It’s not meant to be a ‘masterpiece’ at this stage, but purely for illustrative purposes to see how the mobile is looking and working.
Conclusion
During this process I learned a lot about stringing the mobile. Below are some of the key points:
- Accuracy is key!
- Mobiles are not easy to balance
- Working with thread as a stringing mechanism is very tricky!
- Hanging the mobile is the hardest part
- Sourcing the best items for stringing the mobile is essential
After discovering the above, the next step is to identify more appropriate stringing materials and work towards greater accuracy when stringing. I’ve come to believe that stringing the mobile is an art form in itself. It certainly constitutes a huge part of the process. I think this part will be crucial and potentially could make or break the art piece.
