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Steampunk Jar of Articulated Fireflies

All > "Art" > Sculpture > Steampunk Jar of Articulated Fireflies by jesse

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It was a warm night, the sound of children's laughter bloomed through the bushes. Fiery green gobs of bioluminescence bobbed through the forest. The trees were full of the little magical bugs. I squashed one mid flicker on the walk and showed it to my friend Robbert. Its a great memory I just wished I had actually caught some in a jar. I have seen that reenacted numerous times in the media. Inspired by this vivid gem I produced this "Jar" (more like some invention by a rustic scientist) and filled it with stringy brass bits of kinetic sculpture, and some memories.

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Turn off the lights and pull the knife switch, ultraviolet light bathes the inside of the tube. The "fireflies" are small fluorescent BB's. I was inspired by some of Arthur Ganson's machines.

http://www.arthurganson.com/

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Lets see it in MOTION!

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A two second exposure of it in the dark.

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Here is the top, look for how the wiring runs to the switch from the battery case.

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You just flick it down to turn on the lights (LED's)

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Here is a better view of the battery case.

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Here is the knife switch in construction. Everything was made of brass and soldered or screwed together.

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And here was the knob bolted down, I obtained this knob from my moms old (aged) house. The top and bottom was routed plywood, then painted black. The tube is acrylic, commonly available online, a groove is cut into the wood for it to set into.

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The interior wire sculpture (to make the fireflies bob around)(also brass) took the longest to build of anything, and is so fragile that the lucite protective tube is absolutely necessary.

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