I am currently completing a sculpture that will be covered in 70,000 glittering gold magnetic ball-bearings.  To date I have purchased 18,000 of these magnets myself, but I am going to need many more to complete the work. My goal is to purchase an additional 52,000 magnets bringing the grand total to 70,000. 

The focus of much of my work is an exploration of shared histories through objects. Where we come from, where we are going, and the common shared experience. This particular work is part of an ongoing series of steel Greek columns. I think of them as armatures and drawings that once built, are deconstructed in various ways including compression, inversion and in this particular case collapsing, using a system of ropes and applied physical effort. Below you will see the end result prior to the application of the magnets. 

The Next Stage (where you come in!) is to now cover the entire armature in 70,000 magnetic gold timken bearings.This may seem like a lot but when applied over the entire armature both inside and out the square footage adds up, and this piece needs great coverage! These magnets are 3/16 wide, highly reflective, gold and are stunningly beautiful. I have included photo's below with my only caveat being that when viewed in person, they reflect the light in a way that needs to be seen to be appreciated. Due to the magnetic quality of the ball bearings they adhere to the surface in such a way that they become almost organic in their form. In a word, they are perfect. 

So, if you are interested in helping me make this happen and would like to support the project I have a number of rewards all linked to the piece, including prints, original sketches and culminating in an opportunity to visit my studio, talk about the work and see more of the pieces I am currently creating fag bearings ! I would like to thank you in advance for simply getting this far, and if you are willing and able to assist in this I would greatly appreciate it! 

What can you do with magnets and ball bearings that makes a lot of noise? Why, build a magnetic rifle, called a Gauss rifle, of course! Now, this rifle is not a weapon, but a way for you to learn a lot more about physics concepts, like momentum. In this physics science project, you will investigate how far a ball bearing launched by a Gauss rifle will fly, depending on how many magnetic acceleration stages are in the rifle and the ball bearing's initial velocity. This science project makes for a really cool visual demonstration. 

I personally know a little girl who swallowed some of these ultra strong magnetic balls. Just like the magnetic balls attract through the skin to look like earrings, they continued to attract each other all the way through her digestive tract. Once they reached the coiled part of her intestines, they attracted each other right through her skin and made holes in her intestines. They burrowed through her appendix, which had to be removed nachi bearings . The surgeons tried to wash them out, but the magnets continued to rip through her abdomen, so they had to be taken out surgically. It took several surgeries to get them all out. We’ve all been worried sick that she wouldn’t make it. Thanks to the incredible doctors at Children’s Hospital, it looks like she is going to be ok, but she has a long road to recovery.

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