On the second morning, the actual assembly
starts. Students make modules from three components,
joining them at the obtuse angles. One fine point is
that we're being careful to place the cable ties in a
consistent manner, as the design is very much about
symmetry. So if you look inside the completed
sculpture, you'll see the heads of the cable ties all swirl
the same way.
Next, five modules are brought
together. Getting the first five interwoven
properly is the most challenging step, because the long
arms want to form a big tangle. But with patience,
care, and an eye for symmetry, we get all the over's and
under's correct, then can join neighboring parts with
cable ties. The initial five-way whorl serves as a
pattern which can be followed when adding the next sets
of modules.
Additional modules can be added from all
sides with ten people working all around. Some
people hold them in place while others start inserting
the cable ties. Again we are being careful that
the ties are placed in a consistent, symmetric manner.
Cable-tying all the joints takes a
while. After they are checked and tightened, we
will clip off the tails of the ties. Note that
cable ties only last for ten or twenty years then become
brittle, so someone will have to redo them again every
decade or so to preserve the sculpture.
After completing it, we installed
Eddy
in the two-story atrium of the lobby at KUA's new
maker space building in Meriden New Hampshire. To
see the entire two-day construction process in two
minutes, check out this entertaining
time-lapse
assembly video.
Big thanks go to everyone at KUA who participated in
this project, especially to all the student workers who
did all the sanding, staining and assembly, to Sandy
Reavill who organized all the arrangements, and to Kit
Creeger who made the time-lapse video.