Sometimes beauty does not scream from the rooftops but waffles gently in the breeze at eye level. That’s the caliber of my not-at-all-poetic thoughts inspired by Paolo Salvagione’s nonetheless stunning String Fountain project. Created during his residency at the brand new Pier 9 Autodesk facility in San Francisco, the project, to put it simply, looks like a fountain where the water has been replaced with pieces of string. But don’t let that simplicity fool you—it’s impressive.

This beautiful project is a kinetic sculpture that combines an Arduino with a computer and two bilateral servos to propel pieces of string through the air continuously. The finished project is actually a set of six strings in constant motion. The motor keeps the string alive while the servos tilt back and forth, moving them through space.

The mastermind behind this project is the San Francisco-based artist and engineer Paolo Salvagione, whose latest project balances his fields perfectly. Not only is it visually stunning and technically ambitious, but the pieces and parts that keep the whole thing together can actually be recreated by any amateur with access to a 3D printer. You can actually find a complete set of instructions to create your own string fountain on Instructables. If you can get your hands on a 3D printer, I suggest you give the project a shot. It looks a bit complicated but is totally worth it.

If you don’t have the time or inclination, take a few minutes and wander through the video offering about the fountain above, and let your imagination run wild with all the other materials you yourself might make float through the air like these string.

HT/Images via Creative Applications