@The NYC Toy fair 2008 I saw the German made "Swing-o-graph" - the pictures pretty much explain it all, but just in case - you put the marker/pen in the holder, a "swing" moves the paper around and creates spirograph-like designs. This is one of the products that might fall in to a (re)make - a few of the toys/kits at the Toy Fair might be fun to do on your own.
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Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 20, 2008 01:00 AM
Arts, Toys and Games |
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cooooool. i've to build one too!
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This looks like something I've been reading about lately. A "Harmonograph". There are several links and a couple of books out there that show you how to make them.
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Yeah, "Harmonograph". Some years ago I wrote a python script to generate simple harmonograph-like patterns - Basically I believe them to be lissajous-drawings with additional damping. Of course it gets more complex when you want to incorporate rotations of the tablet.
The script simply outputs postscript: http://www.home.unix-ag.org/simon/files/harmonograph.py
Have fun,
Simon
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This is not a new idea--The science center at the
Seattle Space Needle had a big one in the 1970's that drew on 3' square sheets of poster board..the Cheboygan, MI High School art dept. had a big one on
display in the School library around 1980--you could add weights to the platform to change the characteristics....
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This is old school,my sisters had one in the seventies,back then it was called spiro-graph.
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These are indeed old-school, but a spiro-graph is something else entirely.
Have none of you seen "Sunday Bloody Sunday"?
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There was something similar at OMSI in Portland. Don't know if it is still there, but I always loved it.
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I remember these back in the 70s, After seeing one We went home and made one
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The device from the '70s was called a Pen-Dul-Art. They were very cool, and there are currently two on ebay.
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I am in the process of re-furbishing my 1970's Swing-o-Graph to amuse my grandchildren. I have the original packaging (& pens which STILL work!)On the box lid it says "Awarded the gold medal at the 1970 International Inventors Exhibition in Brussels" I cannot understand why a modern version is not available in shops today.
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