Bill G. Loyd’s Giant Wind Bells

Browsing through Madrid, New Mexico today, I stumbled across some wonderful wind bells/gongs on display at the Range West gallery. These bells, made by the Truchas, NM artist Bill G. Loyd, are cut from recycled gas tanks (e.g. scuba tanks, CO2 canisters, O2 firefighter tanks, etc.). From Loyd’s bio, “the qualities of each vessel are quite different. Each offers the intuitive challenge of coaxing the purest tones from the rusty cylinders.”

Due to their massive size, these bells resonate for quite some time with the most meditative “gong” sounds I’ve heard in awhile. They come in a myriad of shapes and sizes ranging from small, tea-kettle proportions to refrigerator-sized monstrosities. Unfortunately, none of the monstrosities were on display, but I was very satisfied with the medium-sized bells which were about the size of my kitchen trashcan!