A Very Useful Engine is an interactive sculpture for viewers to express their inner child while playing with it. The modular sculpture was featured in the 2023 exhibition, Connect, Interact, Touch curated by Julia Meles in Gallery 148.
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When on display A Very Useful Engine holds crayons and sticky notes that are perfectly sized to the back of the locomotive. Visitors are encouraged to get down on the floor with the piece and play with each other, then decorate the area with their sticky notes of play.​
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Aromatic Cedar was used to give the body a colorful look, complemented with purple heart accents. The body was turned and hollowed on a lathe, then small doors were cutout on the sides to access the internal compartments. The back of the body was made with 1/8th thick slices of cedar and has a removable magnetic purple heart roof. The body was fixed to the base using small magnets in order for the viewer to disassemble it and reassemble it.​
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Connect, Interact, Touch, 2023, Gallery 148.
Minneapolis MN
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PHOTO CREDIT: Hollie Leggett, Benji Salinas
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PROCESS
The process of creation took several weeks to complete in order to make sure every detail regarding the engine was as perfect as it could be.
The base is cut and stained plywood which holds the axle rods for the wheels. The wheels are made of stained cedar and wood burned using pyrography for the application of smaller details. Many tests were performed on the wheels in order to figure out what the correct order of operations was for cutting them symmetrically.
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A purple heart coupling rod was cut on a scroll saw and hand sanded to create a more realistic movement upon the wheels. And in order to light the way on the imaginary track a small flashlight was inserted into a turned oak holder and secured to the top front of the body front.​
ON VIEW, 2023-2024
