CM Logo_alt colors.png

CREATIVE MACHINES

  • HOME

  • PROJECTS

    • Interactive Exhibits
    • Sculpture
    • Ball Machines
  • ABOUT

    • Process
    • Our Story
    • Team
  • CONTACT

  • More

    Use tab to navigate through the menu items.
    • All Posts
    • Ball Machine Sculptures
    • Art Fabrication
    • Awards & Recognition
    • Concept Development
    • Detail Design
    • Community Involvement
    • Exhibits Fabrication
    • Fabrication Techniques
    • Installation
    • Public Art
    • Shipping
    • Interactive Exhibits
    Search
    New Art for Texas A&M University
    • Jul 15, 2019

    New Art for Texas A&M University

    We recently began a public art commission for Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. The sculpture will consist of a 15’ diameter globe composed of a triangular frame made from brushed stainless steel with hammer-formed metal cutouts of the 7 continents attached to it. The negative space of the frame will be fitted with perforated stainless steel panels — when mixed with our powerful LED lighting from within creates an interesting visual moire effect that change
    Shimmering Sea Installs in Tempe, AZ
    • Jun 14, 2019

    Shimmering Sea Installs in Tempe, AZ

    The first stage of assembly and installation for Shimmering Sea is underway! This installation is on a pedestrian bridge at The Watermark in Tempe, Arizona. The piece consists of hundreds of polished stainless steel discs that will gently move with the breeze, creating an ever-changing canvas of reflection of the spaces’ surroundings. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos of our team adhering hundreds of these polished discs to the railings of the bridge. Check out our last
    Camelback Commons Artwork Ships to Phoenix
    • Apr 20, 2019

    Camelback Commons Artwork Ships to Phoenix

    Artwork for Camelback Commons has made its way to Phoenix, AZ for installation. This sculpture is a large-scale suspended stainless steel mobile that will hang in the open-air atrium section of the building and gently rotate with the wind. Check out behind-the-scenes photos below of our team loading the sculptures onto not one, but two trucks! Check out past blog posts about the making of this artwork: New Art for Phoenix, Fabrication for Camelback Commons, Hanging Demo and C
    Camelback Commons Atrium Art Fabrication Update
    • Apr 5, 2019

    Camelback Commons Atrium Art Fabrication Update

    Our upcoming atrium artwork, The Breeze Is So Busy, for Camelback Commons in Phoenix, AZ has been painted in bright shades of blue, green, and yellow. The paint job turned out great and we can’t wait to get these gentle giants installed. Look back at past blog entries about the making of this monumental suspended sculpture: New Art for Camelback Commons, Camelback Commons Fabrication Update, Camelback Commons Hanging Demo. #joeoconnell #kineticsculpture #StainlessSteel #place
    Creative Machines Featured on AZ Weekend!
    • Mar 26, 2019

    Creative Machines Featured on AZ Weekend!

    We have been featured by KOLD News 13‘s Arizona Weekend blog! Thanks so much for coming down to the shop, learning about what we do, and sharing our story with the community. Here is the video they made after visiting our workshop in south Tucson and talking with Creative Machines Founder, President, and Artistic Director Joe O’Connell. ⭐️ See the full piece here → This inventive Tucson business is an engineer’s paradise #joeoconnell #community #kineticsculpture #feature #kin
    New Art for Tempe, AZ
    • Mar 4, 2019

    New Art for Tempe, AZ

    Over the last several months we have been prototyping and testing materials for a new piece of public art titled Shimmering Sea for The Watermark, an upscale residential, shopping, and business center located in Tempe, Arizona. Shimmering Sea is a wind-activated kinetic sculpture composed of an array of polished stainless steel discs. Each of these discs is suspended from just above its center of mass so that it will move with the wind. Arranged in this faceted array, the pol
    Cayton Children’s Ball Machine Fabrication Update
    • Feb 20, 2019

    Cayton Children’s Ball Machine Fabrication Update

    All Systems Go is a brand new interactive ball machine going into Cayton Children’s Museum by Sharewell (formerly known as Zimmer Children’s Museum). This ball machine is loaded with an array of interactive devices and functions. It’s equipped with hand cranks, foot pedals, a bouncy seat, and special gears to twist and turn that will change the course of the circulating golf balls depending on how the user decides to interact with the machine. The machine is designed to illus
    New Ball Machine for Cayton Children’s Museum
    • Jan 15, 2019

    New Ball Machine for Cayton Children’s Museum

    Fabrication has begun on a brand new, state-of-the-art ball machine for Zimmer Children’s Museum by Sharewell, which is reopening as The Cayton Children’s Museum in late spring 2019! (#TheCaytonIsComing)! This highly specialized and interactive ball machine titled All Systems Go illustrates and promotes healthy living through exercise, rest, and healthy eating. The interactive components follow the idea that if you exercise and treat your body well, good things happen. Here a
    Growing Home Ships to Park 12 in San Diego
    • Dec 11, 2018

    Growing Home Ships to Park 12 in San Diego

    Growing Home was packed up and loaded onto the truck and headed towards San Diego, California! This week we have a great team of Creative Machines installers working to get the piece put into place. Stay tuned for more on the installation and to see the finished sculpture in its completed form. Want to see more on Growing Home? Check out our past blog posts: Fabrication Begins, Fabrication Update 2, Fabrication Update 3, Fabrication Update 4. #joeoconnell #community #Stainles
    Perpetual Nephron Machine Fabrication Part 3
    • Oct 9, 2018

    Perpetual Nephron Machine Fabrication Part 3

    Perpetual Nephron Machine is really coming together! It has moved out of the fabrication shop and into our clean assembly area after a fresh coat of paint was added to the frame and tracks. Here the electronics team is working on placing the intricate LED lighting and getting the timing of the balls rolling perfectly. Check out past blog posts about the making of Perpetual Nephron Machine here and here! #kidneyweek2018 #joeoconnell #StainlessSteel #perpetualnephronmachine #ro
    Perpetual Nephron Machine Fabrication Part 2
    • Sep 14, 2018

    Perpetual Nephron Machine Fabrication Part 2

    Here are more behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the Perpetual Nephron Machine! This ball machine illustrates how certain medications work inside the human body. The rolling ball sculpture will make its debut at Kidney Week 2018 in San Diego, California. In these photos, you can see the fabrication team working on both the top and bottom halves of the 14 ft tall sculpture. Also pictured are the beginning stages of the frosted acrylic coming together with the colorful
    Franklin Institute Ball Machine: Part 4
    • Jul 3, 2018

    Franklin Institute Ball Machine: Part 4

    Our newest kinetic ball machine, Newton’s Convergence, is coming together quite nicely! All of the parts and pieces have been painted in bright, bold shades of blue and orange and installed into the frame. The machine is currently in testing to make sure all of the kinetic properties and devices are working without any glitches. Here are some photos of many of the fun details and contraptions that make this rolling ball sculpture tick! It even circulates golf balls for an add
    Lenexa Body Politic Update
    • May 10, 2018

    Lenexa Body Politic Update

    We’re busy assembling a new sculpture for the City of Lenexa, Kansas titled Body Politic. The sculpture represents the communal sharing of public spaces and the importance of community. At night, the sculpture will light up with visitor-controlled LED lighting which will fill up the surrounding space with colorful silhouetted projections of the human form. Here are some shots of the large, laser-cut spheres coming together. For more on this project, check out our last post! S
    Cathedral Coaster Fabrication Update
    • Mar 19, 2018

    Cathedral Coaster Fabrication Update

    Our ball machine team has been busy putting together our newest kinetic rolling ball sculpture, Cathedral Coaster, for American Memorial Hospital in Reims, France. The kinetic sculpture will feature a variety of devices, including hammer-bells, loop-de-loops, ball lifters, swinging-birds and spiral helixes. This ball machine will be adorned with hand painted panels of cute animals and will picture a CNC-cut depiction of the famous Reims Cathedral. Be sure to check out the las
    Cathedral Coaster Ball Machine Fabrication Begins
    • Feb 15, 2018

    Cathedral Coaster Ball Machine Fabrication Begins

    Our Cathedral Coaster Ball Machine is in production! This new rolling ball sculpture was commissioned by American Memorial Hospital, a hospital located in Reims, France that specializes in pediatric medicine. This ball machine celebrates the history of the region with a depiction of Reims Cathedral integrated into the structure among many other whimsical elements. Here are some photos of the first stages of this kinetic ball machine coming together. #workshop #joeoconnell #ki
    • Facebook - Grey Circle
    • Instagram - Grey Circle
    • TikTok
    • YouTube - Grey Circle
    • LinkedIn

     COPYRIGHT © 2022 Creative Machines Inc.