I had come across tensegrity structures (items composed of pieces in tension and pieces in compression) way back in the 80's in a Scientific American magazine. I toyed with the idea of making one of the structures back then but it never ended up happening. I was more-recently reminded after seeing an it-looks-like-it-shouldn't-work tensegrity sculpture and thought it might make an interesting vessel theme.
Speaking of themes, this would apparently be another in an unintended series of "leaky vessels" since many of my turnings seem to end up with holes incorporated one way or another. Be that as it may, the actual
construction was straightforward, starting with a Black Locust blank being turned and hollowed into a suitable vessel and then it had some strategically-curved sections cut out. After sanding and incorporation of holes, the three resulting pieces were reunited using elastic thread.
The resulting impression is that the pieces are held up with the thread. That doesn't seem quite right but is technically true even though all the thread is stretched into tension. A careful look at the wood opening shape should make it more evident why that works but if your mind doesn't bend that way then
this sketch may help.
| Material: | Black Locust |
| Construction: | Turned and carved |
| Finish: | 3 coats Minwax Fast-Dry Polyurethane, satin |
| Size: | 3.8" diameter x 8.1" tall |
| Done: | Nov 4, 2024 |
