What do you call a ball that rolls without turning? Metaballic is inspired by fractal forms as found in both nature and culture. It takes the form of a sphere which has sprouted other spheres over the entirety of its exterior such that it glides on the smaller spheres (encased ball bearings) when pushed. In its formal characteristics it resembles other fractal structures such as a tree or fern in that each part is self-similar to the one above or below in scale and so to the whole. In this case, the self-similar iterations continue down to the molecular level as each ball bearing is coated in graphite such that it writes as it moves gliding on this elemental (albeit hexagonally-arranged) lubricant. This particular fractal form occupied the key-duplicating counter at the Crest Hardware Store during the annual art show held there where customers explored its properties as they waited for their copies to be made.

©2013 Peggy Reynolds