Activity Guide by Judith Tong ’20, Outreach Intern, Grinnell College Museum of Art
Inspiration
There are many ways you can go about building a mobile. Here are some examples for you to draw inspiration from by Alexander Calder.
Notice the different ways Calder suspended objects and where they are suspended from. He used wire and rods. You could use string, too.
Some mobiles are very simple. Some mobiles are very complex. Sometime artist use very different objects in their mobiles, and sometimes they use a lot of the same thing.
Gathering Objects
Start to notice what kinds of common objects you could repurpose for your mobile.
What objects did Calder use in Little Face?
- Suction pads
- Maybe a piece from a broken plate
- A twig from the backyard
- Maybe a broken safety reflector from a bike
Now it’s your turn!
Spend some time looking through the miscellaneous drawers in your house or your yard.
- Think lightweight, small- to medium-sized objects, trinkets, sentimental objects, old keys, action figures, old toys, fun shaped melted candle wax, etc.
- What would be interesting to suspend? If not interesting on its own, what if it’s alongside another unlikely object?
You can also construct objects to suspend.
You can use things like:
- Cardboard
- Egg cartons
- Various recycled materials
- Fabric and plush
- Paint to decorate your object
You can cut out simple shapes from cardboard. The edges may need some trimming up to clean up the shape. You could also paint your cardboard shape. Tape can help you paint straight lines.
There are also simple methods to join cardboard together. Cutting slits that are approximately the width of the cardboard will let you wedge the two pieces together. You can join different shapes of different sizes together too!
Attachments
You can attach string to the object with tape, or you can push a paper clip halfway through, and tie a common overhand knot to the paper clip (see images below.) A safety pin and string would work for fabric.
Tying an overhand knot: Feed your string through the paper clip, make a loop with the string, and feed the end of your string into the loop you created. Now pull and tighten the string. Make a double knot by doing the same knot again.
Other Attachment Methods
Sew through anything you can poke a needle through:
- Use a needle to thread a string (embroidery or thicker preferred) through your object, remove the needle from the thread when you have a few inches of string threaded though.
- Loop the string a few times around your finger and feed the loop you created. This will give you a thick knot on one end of the string.
- Now your object will not slip through the string because the knot holds it in place.
Wire: if you have an object that is difficult to attach string to, you can use thin wire to wrap it, and tie string to the wire.
- The idea is to wrap around your object enough so it won’t fall out of the wire when you pick it up and hang it.
How I Made My Mobile
For one of the objects on my mobile, I cut two pods from an egg carton and painted it. Then I sewed the two pods together leaving a gap in between.
Then, using a giant knot on one end of the string, I attached a little lizard to dangle from my egg. If I wanted to, I could have dangled another little plastic spider beneath my lizard. Dangle as many objects as you want.
I lost the match to the glove shown below, so I stuffed it with poly fill. You could use paper to stuff if you don’t have poly fill. Then I sewed the opening shut and attached a safety pin to hang it.
I cut out a shape from my cardboard pile, and painted both sides different colors. I sewed it so it would stay halfway open and added a paper clip to hang!
I was interested in the shape this melted candle made and decided to paint it. You can poke through wax pretty easily with a needle so I pulled some string through and made a big knot. Perfect!
All together now!
Once you have your collection of objects, Whether it was found or constructed or a mixture of both, then it’s time to actually construct the mechanism that holds it all together. Some materials you can use for the frame include:
Thick Wire
You will need pliers or a wire cutter for this.
Dowels or Sticks
A Clothes Hanger
The process of attaching your object to your frame is a delicate, careful process. Things will likely fly out of balance when you hang the first thing on, but don’t worry. Adding more objects will bring it back in balance. As you attach things to your mobile, experiment! Play with balance, remove things, or dangle additional items.
And you will need to think about where to hang your mobile, too. Some ideas include: from a hook in the ceiling, from a door or window frame, or from the branch of a tree.
My Finished Mobile
Here is my finished mobile with everything on it!
Web support:
Daniel Strong
Associate Director and Curator of Exhibitions
Grinnell College Museum of Art
and
Rick Johnson
Student Assistant
Grinnell College Museum of Art