Introduction:
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was one of America's most important artists. He is most famous for his kinetic sculpture "mobiles". His sculptures were light and airy and unpredictable. Calder called them "four dimensional drawings". Today we will make our own mobiles in the spirit of Alexander Calder using Zippy Foam and wire.

Materials:

• Wandix Zippy Foam in assorted colors approximately 8x10
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Low gauge wire
• Wooden skewers
• Examples of Calder's work from posters or books would be helpful
• Optional – glue and paint

Directions:
1. Cut out of the foam a variety of shapes in a variety of sizes. Try to keep your shapes small so they keep their structural integrity.

2. Now cut small slits on the edges of each shape. This is how the pieces will fit together. Match slit to slit and interlock the pieces. If your shapes are small enough you shouldn't have to glue the pieces together.

3. Create several forms made of many shapes. Then incorporate your wire. You can simply use your wire to bind your forms together or you can make shapes and patterns with the wire and incorporate them into your sculpture. Be sure to attach the wire to the most solid piece of your form. If you attach the wire to a shape that is interlocked with another shape the stress may pull them apart once it is hanging. You can glue all your pieces together but the glue tends to be messy and may not support the forms as well.

4. Use the wooden skewers as crossbeams and supports for the mobile. They may also help give balance to the mobile as it is hanging. Begin with the uppermost form or wire and hang it from a hook, a wall, or have someone hold it for you as you put it together. This way you can adjust the balance of each form as you go.

5. The Zippy Foam can be painted with wonderful results. If your pieces of foam do not stay together, use glue or bind them with wire.

Art Terms:
Kinetic – a general term for all artistic constructions that include moving elements, whether actuated by motor, by hand crank, or by natural forces as in mobiles.
Mobile – (Invented by Alexander Calder) In sculpture, a delicately balanced arrangement of thin rods or stiff wires and objects suspended from them. The entire construction hangs from a thin filament and is moved by light air currents.
Balance / Equilibrium – a composition that lacks equilibrium or balance may be one-sided or without coherence. A composition in which most of the prominent shapes and masses are on one side, for example, would seem to be lopsided unless the other side had interest—spatial, linear, or color—to balance it. Directional lines at different angles, balanced distribution and intensity of color, and proportionate areas allotted to the significant and the secondary parts of the composition all contribute to the balance.

Resources:
Mayer, Ralph. The Harper Collins Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques. Harper Collins Publishers, New York. 1991.

Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History From Prehistoric to Post-modern. Andrews and McMeel Books, Missouri. 1992.

Yenawine, Phillip. Key Art Terms for Beginners. Harry Abrams Publishers, New York. 1995.

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