douglas w merkey
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custom interactive

Beautiful. Interactive. Sophisticated. Stimulating. Durable. Cleanable. Customizable. All these words describe my “beautifully therapeutic” artwork. They're ideal for designers and others who value evidence-based design in health care settings, especially memory care, dementia, Alzheimer’s, senior living, and similar settings.

CUSTOM INTERACTIVE SCULPTURE

Customizing WANDERING WAVES STANDARD DUTY beautifully invites viewers to touch its soothing, wavy forms and create their own artistic masterpiece. This STANDARD DUTY version is best for lighter-impact users (e.g., supervised children, healthy adults). Its interactive waves are smooth on one side and textured on the other. HERE’S a video of this design in action. Contact me to customize size and colors.

Customizing WANDERING WAVES HEAVY DUTY beautifully invites viewers to touch its soothing, wavy forms and create their own artistic masterpiece. This HEAVY DUTY version is best for rougher-impact users (e.g., behaviorally-challenged adults and children). It's interactive waves (smooth on both sides), hinges, and backer are ~2X thicker and move more firmly than the Standard Duty version. Contact me to customize size and colors.

Customizing SPINNING BEAUTY invites viewers to interact by spinning its columns and/or aligning segments within each column as a simple therapeutic exercise. Durably created with solid steel, poplar, and New Zealand pine. Contact me to customize size, and column/frame colors.

30×30 Spinning Beauty

25x56 Spinning Beauty

THE DANCE (40x40x3) boasts 70 spinning cubes that reflect the ever-changing dance between the divine and the human. The divine is signified by the iridescent sub-faces while the human is signified by a variety of natural wood ingots from around the world (Bloodwood, Canary Wood, Maple, Zebrawood, Wenge, Bolivian Rosewood). The piece is framed with solid maple.

OTHER INTERACTIVE ARTWORK

“‘Beautifully therapeutic’ fine art cultivates consecrated pleasure to bring healing, wholeness, and true human flourishing. It can do this through visual and other sensory experiences, like physical touch and interaction. In fact, fine art that stimulates a wide variety of sensory experiences has the potential to be extraordinarily ‘beautifully therapeutic.’ ”
— Douglas W. Merkey, Sculptor

2024 Environments for Aging Expo + Conference

I was honored that DAC Art Consulting showcased my interactive sculpture “Wandering Waves” at the April, 2024 Environments for Aging Expo + Conference in Atlanta. Together, we met the event’s goal to “offer the latest strategies and ideas for creating functional and attractive living environments that meet the needs of our aging population. During this three-day learning experience, attendees will network with peers while learning the latest innovations and best practices in senior-friendly design for long-term and residential care settings.”