The Reclaimed Opening was Great!

Last night was the opening of the Reclaimed Exhibition  a the Mosesian Center in Watertown, MA. It was a blast. Hats off to Roberta, Kimberly, Matt and all the other people at the center for doing a great job with the show. I was very happy with the feedback I got, people loved the robots! There were lots of comments on how each one has a clear personality and how much they make people smile, which is exactly what I am going for. Here is the display of my work.

Having never done anything like this I was not sure what to expect, but it was such fun. It was also cool to be able to talk to other artist and get feedback from them. Overall the whole evening was very energizing. 

Art Show and Newest Robot

The art exhibition I got into starts this week. It opens Thursday and runs through the first week in July. I'm really looking forward to this.  I just finished up this piece and am quite pleased with how it turned out.

This is about 12 inches tall. The head is an old airplane whiskey compass and the body an old electrical meter. The more of these I build the better sense I am getting as to what works well together. My goal is for all the parts to be complementary so that the finished product maintains a look of intentional design and has that "real and used" look.  

I'm in an Art Show - Wow!

Dear Bill , On behalf of our juror, Molly Scannell, congratulations! Your submission titled The Robotorium has been selected for the Reclaimed exhibition. The above is the first few lines of an email I got yesterday regarding 3 of my pieces which made it into a juried art show! As the title says - Wow! The show, Reclaimed, is hosted by the Mosesian Center in Watertown and opens on the 27th of April and runs until 7 July. Getting my work accepted to a juried show is a big deal. There is a huge amount of validation and pride for me in this. Hopefully it his represents a next step in this journey. I'm not sure where it will end up, but this little development is pretty cool. If your near Watertown in the next few months, swing on by and check out the exhibition!

My Vision, Defined by a 3 year old.

This video has been running around the inter-web for a day or so. I found it via Boing Boing, a blog I frequent, and recommend. First off, this is really funny, and cute and adorable. But it also captures much of how I feel about the robots I build, there is clearly joy in this young lady as she stumbles across a mechanical friend while going for a walk. There is also the absurdity, from an adult perspective, that its a water heater, one with personality, but still a water heater! A great hulking inert thing that came alive, for a moment, because a little girl went for a walk.

Rayna, I do not know who you are, but you ROCK!

Newest Addition

I finished this one up this week. I stumbled across 9 old Weston ammeters and got a good deal on them. They make a great platform to build on, I had done two using similar gauges that I got from my friend Amina. I posted about them here. With this one I kept the skeletal nature of the arms the same as before, but added a light in the head. I wanted this one to fit in with the other 2 and I think it does nicely.

February Break

Teaching is a good but demanding job, the breaks, when they come, are much needed. Its kind of like performing all day long, a rest from being "on" all the time can often be vital. So Feb break was both restful and an opportunity to finish some projects.

This one is just about 3 feet tall, hence the photo in the kitchen, instead of an all neutral background. I love the way this one came out - it makes me laugh.  

This one is less than a foot. I love the presence these have, I try to imbue them all with a sense of personality. Most of the times I think I manage to do it. 

Another creation

I finished this one this week while we were getting hit with this winters first real storm. I had the day off so I spent a portion of it at the bench. This one is about 3 inches tall. I really like it, especially the fact that it has no real front or back, it kinda works both ways.