This is the latest project I built at the Zoo. It's a New Year's Eve Ball... well in this case a "NOON" Year's Eve Ball, we dropped it at noon rather then midnight. What can I say, we do things a little different around here!
It's sort of like the Times Square ball minus Dick Clark, Swarovski Crystals, millions of people, and yeah it's not quite as big or tall but hey size doesn't always matter right!? My ball was MC'd by local radio celebrity Cliff Smithers, made of plastic bottle caps, was about 40" in diameter and 25' high, and was dropped to a crowd of around 1200 people. The way I look at it, our ball helped save the environment, was made by local artists, cost less to make, dropped at one of the best zoo's in the country and before everyone else's, and most importantly, you didn't have to fight traffic and stand elbow to elbow with a million people to see it. So there you go... who needs New York!
The reason I made it out of plastic caps is because first of all I wanted it to reflect the zoo's mission of conservation, secondly I wanted it to be playful and fun...what's more fun then brightly colored caps?! Thirdly, I wanted it to be colorful and bright when it was lit... so plastic seemed like the perfect fit.
I spent two months dumpster diving for plastic, it's amazing what you can find in a dumpster! The ball is made of two acrylic domes attached together by a center platform with energy saving lights attached to both sides. I used 100% silicone to apply the caps to the domes, first applying a thick layer of silicone and then pressing the caps into it and then finishing it off with a layer of silver glitter to give it some sparkle. The ball is attached to two metal cables that run through the center pole and out the top. The cables are attached to an electric winch beneath the 1000lb. concrete box, this is what makes the ball travel up and down the pole.
I had a lot of help on this project. My friend Sayaka, a professor and sculptor living in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, builds sculptures out of recycled plastic; she helped by donating some of her plastic. My coworkers, Dennis and Brad were also a big help. Dennis did all the electric and mechanical work, basically the stuff that makes it go up and down, and Brad helped with painting, manpower, and good advice. Working at the zoo has really helped me realize how important teamwork can be. The idea may have been mine but it took the help of others to make it happen.
I was very pleased with how it turned out considering I had never worked with plastic caps before. Working on it gave me a lot of ideas for future projects using found plastic. The fact that it's free and comes in all the colors of the rainbow makes it even more appealing as an art material. I was amazed at how much I had collected in such a short time and also how much STUFF we as a society throw out. This project was really fun to work on, it was a great way to finish the year and ring in the new year. I think this year is going to be a good one!
p.s. there's a video of it on Youtube. You can find it under "Toledo Zoo, noon year's eve"
