After earning enough credits to complete his associate degree, he began taking design and drawing classes at the Art Institute in Chicago.

His most notable contribution to the field became known as the Blintzed Bird Base, now a standard origami fold used for creating an animal with four legs, two ears and a tail from a single sheet of paper.

After seeing an exhibit of Rhoads' ball machines in Greenwich Village, the sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp hired him to invent devices to use in his metal fountains.

[1] Rhoads continued to develop his audio-kinetic sculptures and his work gained national prominence after being fshown on The David Frost Show and Today.

[6] Modernist sculptor and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, James Seawright, said of Rhoads' sculptures: "they embody almost every basic element of machinery, combined in a bewildering variety of ways.

"[7] In response to the growing number of commissions, Rhoads partnered Robert McGuire to create his sculptures at RockStream Studios in Ithaca, New York.

The studio and Rhoads' whimsical sculptures were later featured in an episode of the American children's television series, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

The balls trigger motion, hit objects, strike bells, gongs, chimes, drums and even xylophone bars, allowing each machine to create its own music.