Welcome to: The Robotorium: March 2018

Monday, March 19, 2018

Amina's Birthday Present

So about 2 years ago my friend Amina gave me 2 old Weston electrical gauges. They sat for a while, as things do around the Robotorium, but when I got going on them I really loved how they worked as a platform. I liked them so much I bought a bunch more a few months after I finished the first ones. It proved to be a good call, they really work well and are fun to build off of. Anyway it was Amina;'s birthday this month so I gave her one of the the ones I built using the parts she gave me. Weston #2 now has a new home.

A few new pieces.

Apologies for the long intermission, but its over now. Below are a few newer pieces I finished. These 2 are pretty typical for the aesthetic I am going for. The one below I finished over the Christmas break. This one is a little different in that it has no legs. Its a heavy piece, and the legs were giving me some challenges, which led to the thought that it since looks pretty cool as is why bother with legs, so I left like that, I mean who says a robot needs legs anyway?

Angus

I have had the body for this one sitting around for about 2 years now. I really like the piece but it took a while for the whole thing to come together. I finally just grabbed the body, sat down and got to work. The head was giving me some challenges until I was in Lowe's and walked down the electrical supply isle and found the service hood that worked like a champ, especially in how well it held the old microscope turret I used for his face.

Simpson

Artists Statement

Robots, the future was supposed to be full of them. I grew up in the shadow of the Apollo program, transfixed as massive machines left Pad 39A, rising on a pillar of fire. I drank up every episode of The Thunderbirds, Star Trek, Creature Double Feature and Dr. Who. I devoured Asimov, Clark and Heinlein. They showed me a future of great adventure and promise, all accompanied by a faithful metal companion; not a Roomba or a self-driving car. While cool, they lack the reassuring yet potentially sinister metal gleam of Robby, or B9 from Lost in Space. They do not lurch from task to task or generate massive electrical arcs. They are not imbued with superhuman strength, and are missing the frightening single-mindedness of Gort or The Terminator.

I have always loved building things. So, given the robotless state of my present, I grabbed a screwdriver and drill and took remnants from the past to make my missing future. I see potential creations in stuff that gets thrown away. I love the machine age look of polished aluminum, wrinkle finished paint, and Bakelite. I look for parts that complement each other. Using cast-offs from a time before transistors, I try to create something with an aesthetic unity. I want my robots to look like they have been used and worked, while broadcasting a personality and sense of presence. I want them to look real, that’s important. Most of all, when I’m done, I want to look at them and laugh. With each creation I get a little closer to the dreams I had as a boy, a little closer to the future I imagined. Step into The Robotorium and let me share with you the way it all could have been.