Rolling Ball Sculpture #343 packs three complete tracks and a lot of movement into a relatively compact tabletop sculpture. At 27 inches tall and 18 inches wide, it's large enough to have plenty going on without needing a huge amount of display space.

A speed-controlled automatic chain lift carries the colorful 1" glass marbles back to the top, where two track splitters divide them among three different paths. Turn the speed down for a slow, relaxing rhythm or turn it up when you want more action.

One path starts with a five-inversion loop-d-loop and continues directly into a sideways looping section, changing the direction of the loops as the marble travels through. Another features a tall S-shaped skinny spiral followed by one of my favorite elements, "Marbles on Track," where the arriving marble transfers its energy to waiting marbles and sends them rolling.

The third path adds more variety with wavy track, a ball-collecting tipping arm, two flat spirals and a long section of winding track. With three marbles potentially taking different routes at the same time, there is always something happening somewhere in the sculpture.

At the bottom, all three paths empty onto the large steel collector plate. The marbles wander across the plate, merge back into a single line and return to the chain lift to begin another trip.

At 27" tall × 18" wide × 18" deep, #343 is a lot of rolling ball sculpture packed into a small footprint—three tracks, plenty of kinetic elements and continuous motion.

Handmade from 100% stainless steel and TIG welded.