"Makeshift" - 2014

As I love to work with found objects, and after completing a very complex mechanical piece, I wanted to do a simpler non-mechanical "fun" piece. Yes, fun. It's not often that I get to work spontaneously. Usually my mechanical pieces take a lot of planning, engineering and brainwork. This piece has some of that, but it's much more enjoyable to put things together when the parameters are looser. I had a rough idea of what I wanted the vehicle to be, but things were able to change as I went along. Most changes were hinged on what found objects I had on hand. I just went to my stash and made it work. I hope you like it.

It measures 18" x 19" x 8".

The wheels do roll but that's not the point. And instead of pointing the cannon straight ahead, I turned it  about 5 degrees, which moved his whole body from a straight on pose to a more dynamic one. He is a bit off kilter, tipping to his right, leaning on one leg.

I started with the cannon and played with a million different variations and combinations of parts, wheels, and boxes.

I really like this shot - it shows his determination.

I find it interesting that some of the parts I used have been sitting around my studio for years, and some, like this screw clampy thing, I found at a flea market a day before I added it to the mix.

He has his makeshift helmet on - ready for battle.

This ornament came off a butter dish that I cut down and put on the front of the vehicle.

The curved front and back pieces are actually a tin I cut in half. The shape and patina reminded me of a civil war-era boat.

Many screws and nails add to the detail. The aforementioned butter dish on the right.

You can see he's just barely hanging on the back. He was going to be standing on another box, but it hid the curved part of the base. I like that he just fits here.

In progress pics........................

Figuring out what this piece will be - so many found objects, so many possibilities......
Starting out I knew I wanted to use the cannon part, and for him to be on a wheeled vehicle of some kind.

Carving the hands from basswood.

Figuring out this arms. His hands were done - as well as his torso, legs, and shoes. Now to connect his body to his hands.

Lots of trial and error, but I think I got it.

Afterwards, the arms are carved - and glued to the hands.

Here I'm covering the base with small pieces of tin, using many tiny nails.

Wheels are added. The other section, with the cannon, will be added on top of this.

Thanks for looking,

tom

"Eversharp" - 2013

Another idea I've had for a while - a man sharpening a giant knife. The base is a handmade box I found and the stand for the grinding wheel is made up of parts from an old Erector set. The grinding wheel is made from a piece of wood.

He guides the knife back and forth across as the grinding wheel spins.

Magnets in the palms of his hands, and in the knife, help him hold loosely onto the knife. This lets the knife moves around a bit, with no binding as it moves back and forth.

The view from above. I love how the movement came out - slow and deliberate. The handmade knife was an antique store find. It has "1918 France 1919" written on it and the handle is actually a shell casing. I wish I knew it's history.

Here I'm working out the position of the "knife" in his hands.

Rechecking the position of the knife - and still some carving to do. I used small brass hinges for the pivot points at his shoulders.

His finished head - I was going for a sinister look.......

Ready to be dressed. I made two small covers that close up his chest.

One last check before I put on the cover and sew up the back. You can see the line and the spring which moves his right arm. His other arm moves because it's connected to the knife.

Four small magnets hold the knife in his hands. You can see one of them in the palm of his left hand.

The mechanism, (seen upside down). I used two motors - one for the wheel and one to move the arm. It's always a fun challenge to fit the mechanism into the box I've chosen.

Here's a quick movie clip that shows how it works. I'll be putting together a full edited movie soon.

Thanks for looking.

tom

"Chancey" - 2013

I had done a couple of spinning wheels before but never with a motor. I couldn't be happier with the way this piece turned out. (In my line of work, I always try to create that perfect piece I have in my head. It doesn't always hit the mark, but in this case it did.)

Click on images for larger views.

Push the button on the right and Chancey spins his wheel 3 times. (As you can see, your chances don't look good.) The base is an old handmade wooden toolbox I found at a flea market. I didn't do a thing to it except remove the handle.

The piece measures 19" x 19" x 7".

His shoulder has a special pivot on it, which enables him to lift his arm past the wheel on the way up, and contact the wheel on the downstroke.

He always has his eye out for the next sucker.......

I love the way his face turned out. Incidentally, I'm beginning to explore these seedier kind of characters in my work.

 

A shady character for sure. 

I'm thrilled to be able to create characters like this. When I started out sculpting heads they were much more primitive. As I have been teaching myself, each one gets better and better.

In-progress shots ---

The arm needed to pivot towards his body so his hand can clear the wheel on the upstroke. On the downstroke, he reaches out to contact the wheel. This mechanism had to be figured out before I carved anything. And as always, I tried to make everything as strong as possible; in this case his hand was carved from poplar, which is much stronger than basswood.

His body and clothes, ready to be assembled.

His arm's pivot point.

Here I'm figuring out the critical position of the figure relative to the wheel, and visa versa. The piece is mounted on an old handmade tool box I found a few years back.

Another shot.

The mechanism, with two switches - one turns on the motor and the other automatically shuts it off after 3 strokes of the arm. The mechanism turned out to be simpler than what I initially thought it needed to be - love when that happens - so rare when building mechanisms from scratch. I added a lead weight to help with his arm pulling down on the wheel.

I'm working on putting together a short movie for this piece, but for now.....

Thanks for looking!

tom

"Out of the Darkness" - 2013

Inspiration for this piece came when I received a collection of beautiful ornaments from my friend Eric Cortina to be used in our "Boxcar Fair" Fortune Teller's set. I loved the look of the ornaments and I knew I just had to make a kinetic piece using them. Thanks for the inspiration Eric! 

As she pulls the rope, the 3 lanterns raise and lower. I hid a motion detector in the bottom part of the piece, one of the reasons for the 3 cutouts.

 

A side shot to show the depth. This piece is meant to hang on the wall, but it can be placed on a table or a shelf. It measures 25" x 27" x 7", and is sold.

The overall look is a bit of a return to my older style - a fully painted tableaux. Originally, the pulley and rope were to be secured to the "box", but I like them attached to the "tree" in the corner better.

Her dress is a piece of fabric from a former clothing item of mine - I won't say which one.

Her hair was inspired by the look of Iris Carr in the 2013 BBC production of "The Lady Vanishes".

I wanted some sort of textured background, and since I have plenty of scrap wood around, I thought a pieced-together fence might be interesting. I love how this came out, (I'd love to build one full-size some day).

The mechanism is hidden in her chest. I figured out all the mechanics before I spent any time carving the body.

I'm using 2 bearings which will let her arm rotated almost friction free. A line that runs through her leg will pull the small lever down, and make her arm rotate.

I made two "access doors" that protect the mechanism from interference.

My worktable, post-carving.

Her polymer clay head.

Her body ready to be painted. You can see the two carved "access doors" that will be pressure fitted into the torso.

Her body, ready for final assembly.

Here I'm testing out the placement of the figure and the lanterns - this determines where the mechanism below needs to be. It's always a bit of a balancing act - what looks best verses what works and how much room is required.

The back access panel open - just before her shirt is sewn up.

Making the cabinet. I couldn't find an appropriate container in my stash, so I decided to make it from scratch, (much more time consuming).

I laid parchment paper in the box in order to build the fence. The fence is made from many bits of scrap wood. I needed to remove the fence in order to properly paint and age it. Here you can see that I already painted the background.

After the glue dried, I pulled the fence out. Here it is ready for multiple applications of stain and paint.

Before I painted, I masked the "trees" off - they already had great color. It was fun creating this and I sometimes miss this kind of painting.

Continuing the painting of the box.
The bright blue is just an undercoat - a bit of this color is seen after I aged and sanded the cabinet.

Finally putting it all together - slowly. Before the fence was glued into place, I had to run the wire for the lights up and around the tree on the left - and then fish it down below so it can be connected to a transformer.

Here you can see the motion detector, and cam and lever.  I made the motion detector and transformer easily replaceable, (if ever need be).

Here's that movie... it's best to watch full screen.

Thanks for looking!

tom