The centerpiece of this rolling ball sculpture is a five-way multi-switch that divides a single incoming track into five separate paths. It's a mechanical sequencing system that distributes the marbles automatically, one track at a time.

The first marble is directed onto track one and flips a switch as it passes. The next marble bypasses track one and enters track two, changing the switch again. Each successive marble is sent to the next track until all five paths have been used. The mechanism then resets itself, and the sequence starts over with track one.

One interesting limitation of this design is that the marbles are distributed very evenly among the five tracks. That means I have to be careful about which mechanisms I use downstream—an element that requires extra time to reset before another marble arrives may not work well with this switching system. Designing a rolling ball sculpture often involves working out these timing problems as much as designing the tracks themselves.

There's a lot packed into this piece: a tall narrow coil, two loop-de-loop sections, a ball-collecting tipping arm, several individual tipping arms, flat spirals, deep dips, hairpin turns, vertical zig-zags, and plenty of wavy, twisting track woven through a relatively small space.

The sculpture runs with 1-1/4" miniature billiard balls powered by a speed-controlled chain lift.

Handmade from 100% stainless steel and TIG welded.