makerfaire.com:

Maker Faire Bay Area 2009
Design Through Dissection: Reverse-Engineering A Mechanical Sculpture

Stage B , Sunday 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Local mechanical sculptor Benjamin Cowden explains the design and creation of his moving artworks by disassembling and rebuilding a small machine in 25 minutes. See how initial sketches become final layouts, how simple math becomes a complex mechanical movement. Each of the 37 separate pieces of Benjamin's machine will be examined, the tools and techniques employed in their production shown. Mr. Cowden will demonstrate that the elementary movements of his sculpture can be adapted to infinite uses both large and small.

Web site: http://www.twentysevengears.com/Carousel.html

About the Maker(s)

Benjamin Cowden Benjamin Cowden began working with metal during an undergraduate anthropology project in Cameroon in 1997, where he studied how Baka Pygmies turned worn machetes into utility knives. He later worked with street-jewelers in Costa Rica, learning small metals techniques, before taking a more formal route to education by attending blacksmithing workshops at the John C. Campbell Folkschool in North Carolina. Benjamin was an Artist-in-Residence at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee from 2001 to 2003, during which time he focused on utilitarian forged ironwork, including furniture and kitchenware. Cowden began earnestly making sculptures in 2004 when he entered the Master of Fine Arts in Metals program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Making work which viewers can touch and use remained central to Cowden’s work, and throughout his graduate studies Benjamin focused on interactive mechanical devices which addressed human experience. After receiving his M.F.A., Mr. Cowden relocated to Oakland California, where he is currently exploring electronics and alternative media for creating interactive environments.