How to build a mobilé

After Chris suggested a tutorial, I thought how to show the way it works. The metal parts are black, the threads are red. Such bows can be bought, but also be made of wire or small rattan canes. Please start with the bottom part, building it up step by step. The most important part of the job is finding the balance, and this is something I can hardly explain.

The dangling objects are pieces of stiff cardboard I cut in geometrical shapes and painted with gouache, but I guess I'd rather recommend acrylics because the surface of gouaches is quite vulnerable.

... and the edges
better get painted, too!

In the second picture you can see the very easy method of building the objects. No glue is used to keep the parts in place. It is crucial to make a precise cut, not too thin, not too wide; if you cut only once, the space is too narrow, and the pieces will warp when being shoved into one another. If the cut is too large, they will drop apart. The width of the cut and the material thickness should be the same. -- Have fun making your own mobilé!

And if you do -- I can't wait to see your results. Please let me know!

Hi folks, haven't posted for a long time, due to other jobs and fun like going to the chiro to make me walk properly. Don't we all have transitions of Saturn every few years? Being less mobile, I decided to work on my mobiles again. The left one is named "Beach Houses", the right one "Automatic Abstracts". They are made of stiff paper, painted with gouache paints. I made two small videos. Beach Houses and Automatic Abstraction.

By the way: During the past days I removed a few comments which were friendly but not personal, and I did not have the impression that you are interested in the posted content. You came from some advertising sites. Please, whoever you are, I appreciate comments if they show interest, but not if my visitors are trying to collect clicks. Such comments will be removed, sorry.

My Dad was a preacher in
this church for a few years

The other day I visited my old home Bergedorf which is part of Hamburg since 1937, a fact which until today hasn't been accepted by old Bergedorfians who refer to Bergedorf, every time they mention the "town".


 I passed by the old church which rests on medieval foundations; what you see is from the 17th century or so. And there is this cute little railway station, opened in 1842. It is the oldest still existing station in Germany. It became quite important during the Blast of 1842 when a great deal of the homeless citizens were evacuated on this new vehicle. And a few yards away, there is the old freight-yard, built in 1906. The buildings don't have a function for traffic any more, they are living houses, and one of them, the magazine building, is an artist's studio. He is a friend of mine. I showed his work recently on my blog. He lives and works in the old building, sacrificing a lot of what we call comfort for his art. He was just painting a theatre costume for his son; my visit came as a surprise. He told me about an act of vandalism, committed against pieces of his art which are exposed outside the studio.

Artist Oliver Hertel

One of the sculptures had been beheaded, but he was able to glue it. Later, the guy came to him and confessed that he had been in a rage, due to drugs, and he was very sorry and promised Oliver to lend him a hand.

The "tree souls" stand on their pedestals or on a mirror, silently smiling. I had tea and a chat from heart to heart with my kindred spirit. I rarely see him, but I feel so close to him.