How to Create a Calder Mobile

Last Updated: August 4, 2021

The sculptor Alexander Calder said "To most people who look at a mobile, it's no more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it may be poetry." If you'd like to create a little poetry for yourself, we'll be happy to show you how.

Steps

1
Gather your materials. See the "Things You'll Need" section, below.
2
Cut out the wood pieces using a jigsaw or chop saw. For a first mobile, it is good to start with simple square wood pieces measured 2" x 3". Cut out 9 pieces.
- For advanced mobiles, you can use all kinds of varied shapes—use your imagination!
3
Drill the suspension holes. Clamp one piece at a time to the workbench and drill a 1" deep hole into the edge. The drill bit should be the same size as the wire.
4
Prep the wire. With the needle nose pliers, cut off a 15" strand of wire and straighten it.
- Make a small U-shaped hook at the end.
- To train yourself in making loops in the wire, and to use as a template for the following wires, make loops in the wire strand every 1", so that you end up with 12 loops. We’ll call this piece the mobile tool.
5
Make the base of the hanging mobile. At the base there are two wood pieces balanced on a strand of wire. With the needle nose pliers, cut off another 15" strand of wire and straighten it.
- Mark the wire at 7.5" and using the pliers, make a loop or eye.
- Take two wood pieces and slide them onto the wire on opposite sides.
- Hook the loop into the hook of your mobile tool and make it balance.
- You can trim the balancing by shortening the wire if necessary.
6
Make the first arm of the mobile. Cut off a 12" strand, straighten it, make a U-shaped hook, and bend the hook sideways.
- Use the mobile tool to find the arm's tipping point, and that’s where you’ll make the loop in the arm.
- Slide a wood piece on the end of the mobile tool, while leaving the base piece hanging off its hook.
- Then take the new arm wire and hook it into one of the loops of the tool. Find the loop that allows for best balancing.
7
Unhook the arm from the tool. Hold it next to the tool to determine where you have to make the loop in this arm.
- Make the loop, attach a wood piece to the arm and hook the arm into the base wire, then take the tool and hook it into the arm’s loop and check the balance.
- You can adjust it by shortening the wire, bending it down a bit or even reshaping the arm and placing the loop differently.
- Changing the weight of the wood piece is possible, too.
8
Repeat the process for each arm.
- You can hook the arms all left-facing or mix the left- and right-facing arms.
9
String the loop of the last arm to a hook in the ceiling.

Community Q&A

Question

What kind of wire is used, what's the gauge, and where can I buy it?

T. Chinsen

Top Answerer

Floral wire is the best choice, as the wire has sufficient stiffness to hold its shape. It comes in pre-cut lengths as well as coils of heavier-weight wire. General craft wire is designed to be flexible and is not suitable for a large mobile. Choose the wire gauge that best suits how you want it to look. The wire can be purchased wherever floral supplies are sold. Craft suppliers will have a wider range of wire sizes, as well as colored wire.