Early stages - Giant Praying Mantis
I've had ideas for a Praying Mantis sculpture rattling around in my brain for a while now. I recently decided that I finally had enough parts on hand to get started. The real catalyst was the recent discovery of several gas pump handles. I immediately wanted to use them as pinchers for the mantis. I have used a gas pump in an insect sculpture before: Guzzler. That piece was made while I was Artist in Residence at the S.F. Dump however and was thus limited by constraints in time and facilities. This new sculpture will also employ a glowing “thorax” made from the same hanging lamp that went into the Guzzler piece (see below left). I am beginning to see the mantis as Guzzler 2.0, or a more complex version of a similar theme.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Since the motor was to be mounted inside the propane tank I could not accurately determine the necessary measurements so I made the bracket adjustable.
As with all my larger pieces, the process begins by laying parts out on the floor to get a sense of the overall composition. In the image above right you can see the gas pumps, and lamp part as well as a propane tank, curtain rod brackets, vacuum cleaner bag attachments, and the arm from a scroll saw.
I have a hunch that the articulated pinchers are going to be the biggest technical hurdle of this piece so I have begun by focusing my efforts there. Above are some images of how the rod brackets and gas pumps were modified/augmented to fit together.
Below is a video of the first motorized test of the mechanism. It still needs a lot of work, but it at least seems as if the design is functional. Further down the page you can see the motor mount work etc. The dark side to this small success: balance. So much weight now needs to be extended out in front of the piece that some ballast may need to be added to the rear.
As an afterthought I added springs into the shoulders to help reduce the demand on the motor, those gas pumps are heavy!