Candy-coated Pink Hurricanes and Slinkys

Forces of Nature: Hurricanes and Slinkys (indoor), 2007
Steel, irrigation tubing, cable ties, paint, air fresheners, and artificial grass
Installed at Space 204, Ingram Studio Arts Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

Forces of Nature: Hurricanes and Slinkys (outdoor), 2007-2010
Steel, irrigation tubing, cable ties, paint, and artificial grass
Installed in the Live, Learn, Believe outdoor exhibition, Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky

Inspired by diagrams of hurricane development and the “wonderful toy” the slinky, the inexpensive Slinky seems so simple, but the physics of the spring and theories of Hooke’s law visualize the limits of stress that can be endured before it cannot be corrected when the stress is removed. These sculptures combine these two visuals with a peaceful, but artificial, grassy eye of the storm.  The outdoor version was the first version which included six sculptures ranging from 3 feet in diameter to 9 feet in diameter.  While this series was on exhibit for three years at Georgetown College, I created a smaller, indoor version in which the largest sculpture is 6 feet in diameter.