George W. Hart

The sculpture is assembled from sixty identical laser-cut Baltic birch components shaped like this.
The shape is designed so each part meets with six other pieces along the short straight edges.
Each is a rich red on one side (the outside) and flamingo pink on the other (the inside).




The part preparation included sanding, beveling, applying the two stains, and a clear finish.




Then it took about two hours to go from these stacks of parts to a completed sculpture.




The acute angles of five pieces must be brought together to meet at a vertex and form a rosette.




After weaving the long arms over the short ones, the parts are joined with plastic cable ties.




I like how this five-part module makes a stylish sombrero.




Then we join the modules together, making two types of 3-fold vertices with the remaining edges.




One type of 3-fold vertex lies directly inside the other, giving a visual depth to the structure.




When everything was positioned, we replaced the plastic cable ties with stainless steel cable ties.
(Plastic ties will eventually get brittle and would need to be replaced every couple of decades.)




After everything was tight, we snipped the tails off of all the ties and attached hanging wires.




Then it goes for a ride, up, up, up...




It is connected to a cable high in the atrium, so it can slowly rotate with the air currents.




I think it looks pretty good and befits the name Erubescence, which means "a condition of redness."

Thank you to everyone who helped with the preparation and assembly,
especially Chris Petruzzi, who invited me and managed all the arrangements.
There's more information about the sculpture and related activities here.