Welcome to another Tuesday with TED. Today we have kinetic sculptor Reuben Margolin, whose moving sculptures combine the logic of math with the sensuousness of nature.

Margolin makes wave-like sculptures that undulate, spiral, bob and dip in gloriously natural-seeming ways, driven by arrays of cogs and gears. As a kid, Margolin was into math and physics; at college, he switched to liberal arts and ended up studying painting in Italy and Russia. Inspired by the movement of a little green caterpillar, he began trying to capture movements of nature in sculptural form.

Now, at his studio in Emeryville, California, he makes large-scale undulating installations of wood and recycled objects. He also makes pedal-powered rickshaws and has collaborated on several large-scale pedal-powered vehicles.

Take a few minutes to watch this short, but mesmerizing TED Talk. Margolin’s work is inspiring and beautiful.

Did you like Margolin’s sculptures? How did you respond to his idea of the contrast between the need to look deeper versus the world’s immediacy?

I tend to view the world as a series of circles; Margolin sees it as a series of waves. How might you use either of these concepts in your creative pursuits? Leave a comment below.

Until next time,
Cynthia Patton