Colin

Colin Jemmott

Profile

Public artist and lead fabricator building large‑scale, interactive sculptures in steel, aluminum, wood, cable, and light. Proven delivery at civic scale with clean installs, volunteer crews, and city coordination. Comfortable with grants, budgets, schedules, and documentation.

Core strengths

Concept to install on 20–30 ft works
Steel and aluminum fabrication, tensegrity, custom hardware, lighting integration
Crew leadership, volunteer management, safety planning
Budgeting, grant writing, permitting, city coordination
Documentation, maintenance planning, and on‑site troubleshooting

Selected public artworks

Uplift (2025)
Ten‑foot steel‑and‑cable work with internal hidden tensioning. 2" box steel, custom‑crimped stainless cables, oil‑based paint finish. Engineered and empirically load‑tested for robustness.
Tasks: CAD • empirical load testing • welding • cutting • grinding • custom connector fabrication • paint • volunteer coordination
Placements: Debuting Burning Man 2025

Star (2024)
Great stellated dodecahedron, 30 ft diameter, ~3,000 lb. 6061 aluminum poles with custom 3.5" OD 1/8"‑wall DOM hubs and tips; oil‑based paint on steel, aluminum; LED lighting. Built with a 300+ volunteer crew.
Tasks: Concept • budgeting • grant applications • volunteer recruitment and training • fabrication • logistics • install • lighting programming • documentation
Placements: Burning Man 2024 • Youtopia 2024 • California Center for the Arts, Escondido 2025
Recognition: North County Art Awards finalist 2025 - Public Art • Local front‑page feature “A Star Is Born” • Grant from the city of Escondido for Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month

Temple of Floating Compression (2023)
Charred timber tensegrity using 12 ft 4×4s, 1/4" stainless cable, custom steel caps, and integrated lighting.
Tasks: Plasma‑cut and welded caps • design for transport and rapid assembly • materials sourcing • lighting and power lead
Placements and grants: Saguaro Man 2023 (grant and install) • Burning Man 2023 • Youtopia 2023 Temple • Bombay Beach Biennale permanent install 2024–present

Recognition: Grants from Saguaro Man, SDCAP, Youtopia
Durability: In continuous outdoor display at Bombay Beach for ~18 months

Tensegrity Icosahedron (2022)
Climbable wood and steel cable tensegrity sculpture.
Tasks: CNC plasma, jigging, cable assembly, finish, install
Placements: Burning Man 2022 • Open Sauce 2024 • Circle Center Gallery 2025 • What the Faire? 2025

Quadcycle (2017)
Side‑by‑side pedal‑powered kinetic sculpture.
Tasks: Frame design, welding, steering integration, safety checks
Placements: Maker Faire San Diego 2018 • Burning Man (multiple years)

Couch Swing (2015)
Large public swing installation for festivals and street events.
Tasks: Design, rigging, finish, safety planning, transport logistics
Placements: Art Around Adams 2016 • San Diego Pride Festival 2018 • Youtopia (multiple years)

Community leadership and teaching

San Diego Collaborative Arts Project, 501(c)3 — Board President, 2015–2018
Acted as chief executive in service of the mission to promote large‑scale, interactive art in San Diego while maintaining 501(c)3 status. Facilitated consensus‑based meetings and supported hundreds of volunteers.

Youtopia (San Diego regional burn) — Department leadership
Gate lead ×3 • Transportation • Logistics ×2 • Sound. Lead artist on a half‑dozen granted projects and crew on many more.

Colab (San Diego maker space) — Instructor
Taught Intro to Welding and Steel Fabrication for Art in 2024 and 2025.

Education

Ph.D. Acoustics — Pennsylvania State University
M.S. Electrical Engineering — Pennsylvania State University
B.S. Engineering — Harvey Mudd College

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