Mobiles for the Future

The future
of kinetic art
is analog

As humanity races for more compute, we believe the keys to inspiration, peace, and beauty are found not in sensors, motors and actuators, but in the vast sophistication of the natural world itself.

Powered by
the invisible

Instead of dominating our atmosphere, our kinetic sculptures come alive because of it, and move within it. Our work reveals the omnipresent, perpetual flow of nature's energy and information. Observers are reminded that the best things are free.

Painted hand mobiles photographed from below — WindFire Designs kinetic installation
Tim Elverston and Ruth Whiting, kinetic artists and co-founders of WindFire Designs

Ruth Whiting and Tim Elverston

Site-specific kinetic sculpture

Scaled to the volume, tuned to the light, and designed for decades of reliable, low-maintenance operation.

We have major permanent installations in offices, resorts, healthcare environments, academic institutions, and corporate headquarters. We welcome inquiries from art consultants, facilities directors, and commissioning committees working on significant public spaces.

Motion, color, and beautiful details

Painted hand mobiles photographed from above — WindFire Designs kinetic installation

Animated spaces

Large-scale kinetic sculpture commissions

Public mobiles animate static architecture when visitors need it most. The motion of our work has no memory, no arrival, no program. The sculptures listen and reveal ambient energy flow like leaves in wind.

Tim Elverston installing the HandFlow kinetic mobile, blues colorway
Close-up detail of a HandFlow installation swivel joint and mechanism

Silence in motion

Our installations make no sound. Perfect balance, precision tolerances, and incredibly low friction mean that although they are in continuous motion, they remain completely silent.

Tested Beauty

Our designs have proven themselves over many years. Every decision we make has to do, not only with beauty, but also with reliability and service life. No motors, no maintenance cycle. The work is alive because the building is occupied and breathing.

Minerals series kinetic mobiles photographed as a group at night

Oh wow, it actually moves

Unlike so many other mobiles, these are always actually moving, reacting to the slightest airflow. The friction in our work has been relentlessly removed. Our movement is Phenomenological, more like a river or a field of grasses.

Structural Loads

Our indoor kinetic sculptures come from the world of flight. The weights we work with are negligible. We don't add any significant structural loads, nor do we need to tap into electricity. We can install into virtually any overhead structure without any modifications.

Ruth Whiting doing fine wire work on AirColor Stacks elements in the studio, yellows colorway
Close-up of blue strip elements from AirColor Stacks in the studio

Always in-flow

Like an indoor ocean of color, they are beautifully consistent, and ever-changing.

Connections

A lot of thought is spent on our connection technologies.

Here, panels of sheet stainless steel are joined without welding or glues.

Minerals series mobile in the studio, photon star form

Always new, always familiar

Every piece we install considers both visitors and the people who work with it on a daily basis.

Similar to living near a body of water, our work is an invitation to get lost in observation. It invites being noticed but never demands it.

Moving Color

A proprietary process of archival oil paints allows us to create refined palettes that are precisely customized for our clients.

Ruth Whiting painting kinetic mobile elements outside
Ruth Whiting painting kinetic mobile stainless steel kite

Ruth Whiting has a rigorous fine arts background. Although she has trained in the ways of the old masters, her work is steeped in her own modern passion and fire. View Ruth's portfolio here.

Backlit color test for strip mobile elements — Ruth Whiting, WindFire Designs studio

Studio vibrant

Brush marks are layered to produce rich color-filled surfaces that change dramatically as the light shifts.

Ruth Whiting using a palette knife to paint kinetic art elements outside
Ruth Whiting reviewing a paint color sample for kinetic art outside

Archival Decisions

Pure transparent pigments are chosen for optimal light-fastness and long-term durability.

High Tech Handmade

Wire and mobile parts laid out on a table in the WindFire Designs studio

Made by hands

We are a handmade technology company. We produce exquisite objects with our hands. Our art is process design.

Atmosphere for architecture

Mobiles and air-responsive sculptures that bring continuous, unhurried movement to atria, lobbies, and civic environments.

Ruth Whiting holding half of a handmade jewel-bearing swivel for a kinetic mobile

Made here

Tim Elverston and Ruth Whiting working together on mobile parts in the sunroom

Everything we make is custom-designed and fabricated from high-tech raw materials — sourced from U.S. manufacturers. All details and elements are unique to our work and not found anywhere else in the world.

See our commissioned work