A gear-driven wooden machine creates intricate swirl drawings

Do any of you out there remember the Spirograph drawing toy? The "Cycloid Drawing Machine" shown in the video is like its cooler big brother. Various wooden gear and linkage combinations are used to produce a huge array of different drawings.

The drawings are also kind of a neat way to study the output motion resulting from different gear and linkage combinations. I love that it is hand-cranked. The machine is all wood and looks to be very well made.

The Cycloid Drawing Machine is currently a Kickstarter project seeking funding. There are two funding reward levels, both of which get the backer one of these nifty machines. Here is the Kickstarter page for Cycloid Drawing Machine.

---

See the automata from the Murtogh D. Guinness collection for Obscura Day 2015!

Here is an invite from the Morris Museum to see some of their automata for Obscura Day on May 30th, 2015:

In celebration of Obscura Day 2015, the Guinness Collection Curator and Conservator invite you to the Morris Museum for an interesting and unique demonstration program of clown automata! Come and delight in the fantastical doings of the incredible clowns, jesters and harlequins from the Guinness Collection. Then join us for a private tour behind the locked doors of the Guinness Viewable storage area, where over 500 more mechanical musical instruments and automata live!

The ticket price includes admission to the museum and the opportunity to join the public daily demonstration of the Guinness Collection at 2pm.

Event Details:
Date: Saturday, May 30; 12:30-2:00pm
Price: $25
Location: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
Web site: www.morrismuseum.org
Tickets: available from Eventbrite

---

Claud - motorized metal fish made of salvaged parts

Check out the latest from Chris Cole -- a motorized fish made of salvaged bicycles, auto parts, salvaged steel, and reclaimed purple heart wood.

See more kinetic sculptures by Chis Cole on his web site.

---

Theriault's auction weekend, May 2-3 at the Westin Governor Morris Hotel, Morristown, New Jersey

Theriault's will be having a weekend of auctions in New Jersey at the Historic Westin Governor Morris Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, 2015. For sale will be many fine antique dolls and automata. Among the automata is a superb piece by Henri Phalibois. Shown here is an antique Conjuror by Leopold Lambert of Paris.

Here is where you can get more information on Theriault's auction weekend, May 2-3, 2015.

---

I Ain't Much For Book Learnin' - a kinetic sculpture by Jim Jenkins

Check out the latest sculpture from Jim Jenkins titled I Ain't Much For Book Learnin'. The sculpture features a tower of three chairs. Motors rock and sway the bottom chair setting into motion the upper two which are balanced upon it. A globe, dunce cap, and paper airplane also put into motion.

See more art by Jim Jenkins on his web site.

---

Beautiful miniature musical automata to be sold at Sotheby's in June

Here is a beautifully produced video showing three miniature musical automata to be sold at Sotheby's upcoming sale. The three pieces represent a sampling of a larger collection that was amassed over five decades. They report that the collection has not seen since the late 1970s. Among those shown, two of the automata are by the famous automaton-maker, Jaquet-Droz who is known for creating the three large, complex automata known as The Writer, The Draftsman, and The Musician.

Here is where you can get more information about Sotheby's sale of musical automata on June 11th in New York.

---