Jeffrey Zachmann spent the first 15 years of his professional life making functional ceramics and selling them around the country at art shows. But occasionally he would tinker with clay pieces that incorporated rolling balls and tracks—a side project inspired by childhood memories of playing with marbles and impromptu mud sculptures. Locked in the paradigm of being a potter, he had only marginal success with these pieces; the balls wouldn’t roll the same way on wet clay as they would on the finished piece. Then it dawned on him: “Just because I’m a potter doesn’t mean I have to work in clay! It sounds pretty simple now, but that idea ended up changing my life.” Knowing how to weld, Zachmann started building sculptures with metal and materials he had laying around. Fearing he’d be the only one to like them, he was initially hesitant about showing them. But after some encouragement from his wife, Zachmann started showing his moving sculptures and within six months, he no longer had time for pottery. He says, “the reactions of viewers and the crowds drawn to my work still amaze me.” Since then demand for Zachmann’s kinetic sculptures has only grown.