Large hand-forged steel orb sculptures resembling chinlone wicker balls, called "Chinlone Garden Orb Sculptures," displayed on a high desert landscape. The sculptures come in various sizes.
Large hand-forged steel orb sculptures resembling chinlone wicker balls, called "Chinlone Garden Orb Sculptures," displayed on a high desert landscape. The sculptures come in various sizes.

Chinlone Garden Orbs

Artist Statement from Christopher Thomson

In 1954 my political scientist father returned from a year in Burma with three wicker chinlone balls. I was six years old. They fascinated me. I enjoyed looking at them almost as much as kicking them.

These orbs are spherical projections of an icosiedodecahedron, the Archimedean Solid composed of 20 equilateral triangles and 12 regular pentagons. I am not alone with my fascination. Though Archimedes's original treatise was lost, all 12 of his solids were rediscovered by renaissance mathematicians and artists. More recently Buckminster Fuller studied these 6 great circles each divided by the others into ten equal arcs.

Orbs are powder coated to withstand environmental elements with a clear UV protective finish.

- Christopher Thomson

 A 19 inch round red steel orb sculpture resembling a chinlone wicker ball, hand-forged by New Mexico blacksmith Christopher Thomson.
19" Multi-Strand Chinlone Orb

Red
$2,400

A 25-inch pineapple yellow sphere sculpture in the shape of a chinlone wicker ball.
25" Multi-Strand Chinlone Orb

Yellow
$4,000

 A multistranded white powder-coated orb sculpture on a three-legged stand, displayed on a lawn in front of a home.
38" Multi-Strand Chinlone Orb

White
$6,500

A 51-inch red steel orb sculpture representing a wicker ball, displayed in a field of grass. Hand-forged by New Mexico blacksmith Christopher Thomson.
51" Multi-strand Chinlone Orb

Red
$8,000

A large 76-inch diameter orb sculpture, resembling a chinlone wicker ball or an orb of energy, displayed in a public garden. Hand-forged by New Mexico blacksmith Christopher Thomson of Christopher Thomson Ironworks.
76" Multi-Strand Chinlone Orb

Red
$14,000

Installation

Stands are available for purchase, although they are not a requirement. Many of our customers place their Chinlone Orbs directly on the ground if the surface is level enough.

Stand for 25" Chinlone Orb  $1,300
Stand for 38" Chinlone Orb $1,500
Stand for 51" Chinlone Orb  $1,700
Stand for 76" Chinlone Orb $2,400

Custom stand used to raise Chinlone Orb Garden sculptures off the ground.