The original group of 12 spheres
Soldering the two spun copper half spheres together
This project began when an old friend's little brother threw a bottle with a message in it into the Susquehanna River back in 1997. He wrote about himself and his family in the letter. 4 months later, he received a note from a man who lived near the Chesapeake Bay. The letter told of a brief story of his life and brought together two completely disparate people. I was floored by such a random connection in the midst of the digital age taking hold. I decided to take this to another level by enhancing the form of the delivery system, creating a little desirability, and putting whoever finds my work to the test.
The initial group of 12 were made on my fathers spinning and machine lathes. Two sphere halves were spun from copper and then soldered together on a machine lathe. The resulting sphere was water tight and floated nicely. I felt that these objects had a weight and substance that would elicit a response from the finder. They would stand out from the typical beach detritus.
I numbered and engraved each of them with my old home address. The engraved text asked the finder to Please mail this sphere to:... (the address followed). All 12 were thrown in from various locations around the United States and 1 from New Zealand.
Preparing to throw sphere #3 February 15, 2001. This sphere was found in Scotland 14 months later.
At work in the shop
Throwing sphere #11 into the Atlantic ocean from Singer Island, Florida on January 2, 2004
The second letter I received from the finder of Sphere #3. The first one was sent without the sphere to make sure I actually existed and that he would not be sending the sphere out into the ether.
Sphere #6 in Auckland, New Zealand before heading out on the boat.
The captain of the vessel that would help #6 out to sea.