Looking for a Venue
Looking for a venue...
David Ecklein <eckleind@gmail.com>
My computer business (Diacad Associates in Rumney NH) has taken a double blow - first from Covid and second from the prevalence of handheld devices and laptops, neither of which are within my competence. Desktops still dominate business, but the market is saturated and there is no point in putting together something that can be bought cheaper from Walmart. There are gamers who wish powerful custom computers, but most of those folks know more than enough to put them together themselves. I still have one local industrial client who needs something special once in a while (over 50 of my machines so far at Stonewall Cable here in Rumney), so Diacad Associates is still alive - though I let my website and company email go. A slow-w-w second retirement at age 83.
The first inkling of what I will be doing more of now - Chaostron -
https://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/the-chaostron
Trying to reconfigure as an artist with a medium of electronic and mechanical kinetic art based on race-condition chaos is natural given my perceived "gyro gearloose" nature....
Donald Duck character ® The Walt Disney Company
....but finding a venue is difficult, especially in New Hampshire. Recently I was able to auction off one of my pieces for a Lakes Region Mental Health benefit. I also joined the Lakes Center for the Arts, and they came up with this page:
https://www.lakescenterforarts.org/artists/david-ecklein/
Most people up here think art is something that hangs on a wall or is a figurine. So kinetic techno art may be a tough sell. But not as tough and more fun than putting together custom-built computers that few are excited about buying any more.
You might be interested in my latest application of chaos to (amusement or art, take your pick) electronics. What follows was a letter sent out last month to classmates, friends, and relatives - a topical cooperative project with my wife.
But first, here is a short video of HAMPTON, the robot glockenspiel (small metal xylophone) player, an offering on my LCA catalogue page. The robot in the box hits the glockenspiel with hammers from below. HAMPTON makes his own "music" according to chaotic principles. The small glockenspiel itself is a manufactured item available from Amazon:
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: David Ecklein <eckleind@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 10:46 PM
Subject: Fwd: CFHS59 reunion & THE DEBATE
To: Dick And Carolyn Giese <rlgandclg@gmail.com>
Dick-
This is a little belated, but I should send it out before time sweeps pleasant memories away. Forgive the repetition if I did send something before on this.
It has been over a week since we got back from driving to Cedar Falls Iowa (about 1400 miles each way). Cedar Falls did get hit by some flooding, but fortunately it had subsided and most streets were open for our CFHS59 reunion with the Sturgis Falls parade and musical extravaganzas. Wife Cosy will have a more detailed write up available soon. We shared the shelter at Washington Park with some other "oldster" class reunions - I think ours was the oldest class with nine attendees. Gene Armstrong, a major contributor to our Point-Of-View list, was there. I was surprised that my brother Bryce showed up from New Zealand - he was CFHS62. Also, we were greeted by Lyle Krueger, a cousin of mine fairly recently retired from Cedar Falls Utilities, the municipally-owned outfit that provides probably the least expensive electricity, water, gas, telephone, etc service in Iowa. Cedar Falls is a magic town with real community spirit - no trash or graffitti anywhere. I am an admitted biased booster, as the town where I grew up affected my thinking on many things.
Since I was an iconic school nerd in the day, I felt compelled to bring along a "show-and-tell". I had HAMPTON (my robot glockenspiel/xylophone player) , but felt that wasn't enough - nor was it timely in these days of political Sturm und Drang. I knew the "great debate" was coming up on Thursday, June 27, just two days before our reunion. So with the help of wife Cosy, who made the puppets, we threw together THE DEBATE. I did the mechanical and electrical animations and voices, while she did the puppets. We didn't have much time, so it was close - she was finishing up their costumes the night before we left on the trek west. Here is a brief mp4 video - resemblance to any politicians living or brain dead is purely coincidental.
Hope you enjoy the video - recent events call for some offset of levity. It is an "Equal Opportunity Offender". My reunion classmates, of mixed politics, were amused.
-Dave E.