Not a Robot

So clearly this is not a robot. But it is very cool. It came together pretty quickly in the midst of working on another robot. I love the way it looks and it is in keeping with the machine age asthetic I try to capture. Right now I am working on a series the shows the creative process, look for it soon.

Humorous Diversions

My memory was jogged last night regarding a great commercial that aired on Saturday Night Live back in the 90's. It was for Old Glory Robot Attack Insurance. I think its hysterical and love the robot they came up with for the piece. Enjoy.

Smaller Creations

The size robots I build seems to fall into a few groups. Large (bigger than 2 feet) Medium (1-2 feet) and small, like these:

These range from about one and a half to a little over six inches. The smaller scale is fun to work with but seems to have little impact on how much time is involved. The quickest one has come together is about 30 minutes, some have taken over a year of pondering and tinkering, most take a couple of weeks of on-and-off work. Either way its rewarding and the end product always makes me smile. 

Cool things I find

So I'm sitting at the bench pulling apart an old voltmeter and find this:

Naturally the next inclination is to search for Burgess Batteries on the interweb and I come up with this:

Clearly the good people at Burgess Battery (bought by Mallory Batteries, now known as Duracell) had the same vision of robots that I do. The cool thing is this battery is still kicking out 1.2 volts! God knows how long it's been in there. The other cool thing is that pulling apart stuff invariably gives me lots of other parts, now I need to think of what to do with an ancient, but still usable dry cell.

Hot off the Robotorium Bench

I just finished this last week. This is one of those that sort of fell together in an unintentional sort of way. Some I set out to create, usually with a body, or head, but it usually starts with a part that will be the body. This one came about just by  fiddling with parts, then one thing led to another and this is the result. Its about 6" tall, and heavy - the body is made of 2 steel bearing cups held together with neodymium magnets. The head rotates freely and the arms rotate about the shoulder. Kind of reminds me of Gort. 

A Boy Dreams of the Future

OK, Lost in Space is Cheesy, I mean really cheesy, but honestly what kid my age didn't love that robot. And Robbie - he was the ultimate! Now Forbidden Planet was about as far away from Lost in Space as one could get, but these two robots formed the core of a young boys vision about what a robot was supposed to be. Toss in Gort, a few odds and ends from Creature Double Feature and you have the foundations of my vision of the future.  I'm not ignoring Rotwang's creation in Metropolis, she/it was the definitive elegant robot for a long time, but elegant was not what came to my mind when I thought robot. Clanky, Metal, Lurching, and perhaps Malevolent, but not elegant. So when I sit down at the bench in The Robotorium this is the history that drives the aesthetic I am going for.  

Friends Give you Parts

These 2 I put together with some old Weston Electric meters that my friend Amina gave me. I was quite touched with the gift and am happy with the final product. They are both a little different yet similar enough in material and design as to look like they are related by more than just the meter. I find these two especially pleasing.

3 of the 5

More and More Robots.

My brother-in-law says I need to be the guy who the neighbors talk about because his house is totally full of robots. You know, I meet some tragic and untimely end, and they do a news story on the house packed to the ceiling with robots. My Brother-in-law is a funny man.
Right now I have about 35. They range in size from 1.5" to 2.5' tall. The ones below I call "The Five". There are actually 6 now, with parts sitting around to make more, but I had 5 on the shelf in the living room and just started calling them "The Five" and the name kind of stuck. I consider them my signature piece. They are pretty representative of the aesthetic I am going for and they have great presence.

Parts, it all begins with parts. Right now most of them come from eBay. Its amazing what's out there and what kind of stuff people are willing to buy (I know, I have spent good money on some pretty odd things, but you never know how it will all come together) Much of the stuff just sits in the Robotorium waiting to be needed. I have looked at some things for over a year before something clicks and it takes its place in a new creation. I swear thats half to fun of this. The process is a joy.

Welcome to The Robotorium

Robots; The future was supposed to be chock full of them, just ask Isaac. They were supposed to be large chrome or wrinkle-paint finished metalic contraptions that lurched from task to task, squealing and reeking of warm oil. Flashing lights, spinning antenna and a glass dome to top'em off.  They were not supposed to look like Roomba. At least that was my vision of the future, but alas it was not to be. So a few years ago I decided that bringing my vision to life was a worthy endeavor. This caters to my creative bent and my tool using nature, but most of all its fun. Every time I finish one of these I laugh. I hope you do to.  Come on in and take a look at the future that should have been.