I’ve been interested in automata for a long time. I used to visit Cabaret Mechanical Theatre when I passed through London in the late 80s and early 90s (it’s now based in Hastings). More recently, I visited the MAD museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, which reawakened my interest. I got the book ‘Making Simple Automata by Robert Race’ and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, all seemed a bit complicated; the materials used (although I...

An automaton that turns night into day. Turn the handle and the polymer clay disk rotates transforming from daytime into nighttime. Warm lights brighten the daytime sky with a reflective copper sun and as night comes up a cool bright light glows behind to illuminate the moon and the stars. Made from polymer clay and wood with some electrical components and quite a bit of fiddling! I can’t get the video to upload just now so go and find it...

I was busy prototyping for another project when I hatched this idea for an Easter puffin!

I’ve always been fascinated by Automata. I used to call into Cabaret Mechanical Theatre when it was in Covent Garden in the 80’s and 90’s when ever I was in London. In more recent years, I found the MAD (Mechanical Art and Design) museum in Stratford on Avon. I’ve thought about trying to make my own over the years, but it always seemed to be rather difficult – I finally took the plunge in 2024! (for those of you...