Work in progress

Work in progress
Originally uploaded by Auraelius

Here's the first attempt -- a mobile with store-bought butterflies. Given to a young girl for her bedroom.

Smooth, quiet motion. One of the acrylic bars had a solar cell at one end and a tiny propeller at the other to nudge the assembly into motion when the sun shone on it.

Delivered as a kit... Not sure where it is today....

The Happy Dance

Last Dance
Originally uploaded by tlindenbaum

The first questions are... what does a flock of butterflies look like when they're happy? When they're afraid?

If a butterfly is part of a marionette, how would the puppeteer convey emotions with the motions of the many insects?

If the butterflies were contented and sleepy, how would they glide above your head as they sang you a lullaby with their wings?

The Vision

Here's where it started...

You approach a tree and see butterflies in the branches above you. You whistle and the butterflies come down to you and dance around you and the tree. You clap your hands in delight and the butterflies dance more excitedly. But then, you clap once, too loud, and you frighten all the butterflies away....

You are in the audience of a theater. The oil and wax of the footlights smoke as you watch the illusionist performs. He opens a huge, multicolored Chinese umbrella and, as he tells tales of the Far East, a dozen pairs of small Chinese fans descend from within the umbrella and dance around his head... You think of butterflies....