Profile of Will Matthysen hand his handmade wooden clocks

Check out this lovely profile of Will Matthysen who designs and makes clocks made almost entirely out of wood. Will Matthysen is a designer and maker of furniture. He works out of his workshop in Victoria, Australia. He has designed a variety of handcrafted clocks. Most are made largely from wood, but also may also include other materials such as brass, steel, and glass.

Visit his web site to learn more about Will Matthysen.

For more on the making of wooden clocks Wooden Clocks: 31 Favorite Projects & Patterns (Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Book). The ultimate project in the book is Wooden Gear Clock shown on the cover. In addition to the scale plans, photographs and step-by-step instructions there are also cross-sections and exploded diagrams showing how the wooden mechanism is assembled. Plans for this one clock are worth the price of the book. The remainder of the projects are for clocks with wooden cases with battery movements, which may not be as glamorous, but are far easier to make for less ambitious woodworkers or those looking for handmade gift ideas.

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Beautiful bird automaton kit with flapping wings

Shasa Bolton wrote from Tasmania, Australia to share the news of a new flapping wing automaton kit.

This beautifully designed kit mounts on a wall or table. Once separated from the sheets, follow the instructions and slot the parts together. No glue is required! This looks like a great project or gift that one can assemble in under 2 hours.

Here is where you can get the wall-mounted flapping wing automaton kit.

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Butterfly Effect -- a kinetic sculpture by Brett Dickins,

Here's the latest sculture from Brett Dickins, this one titled Butterfly Effect.

From the video description:

One off wooden/polished aluminum gear sculpture featuring a mechanical butterfly which takes a different flight path on each revolution of the main gear. Other features include small gears on the body of the butterfly which rotate, and the introduction of polished metals as a new material in my work.

Here is where you can see unedited footage of the Butterfly Effect sculpture

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Video profile of Will Matthysen, a modern-day clockmaker

Working diligently in his workshop outside of Victoria, Australia, Will Matthysen has a rare profession, that of clockmaker. He's made over 170 clocks in his lifetime. Enjoy this lovely video profile of this talented craftsman.

Here is a longer article about Will Matthysen, titled The Clockmaker.

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The Great Australian Clock with 33 moving scenes

The Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia houses two remarkable mechanical clocks. Shown here is The Great Australian Clock which features dioramas and moving figures.

About the clock, from Wikipedia:

The Great Australian Clock, designed and made by Chris Cook, weighs four tonnes and stands ten metres tall. It includes 33 scenes from Australian history, seen from both Aboriginal and European perspectives. An Aboriginal hunter circles the exterior of the clock continuously, representing the never-ending passage of time.

Here's a nice Flickr set featuring The Great Australian Clock.

[ Thanks Anne!]

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DaVinci's Last Supper - automaton by Phalibois

Shown here is a rare automaton by the famous maker Phalibois representing Davinci's painting The Last Supper. It is a large scene-style automaton measuring about four feet in length. It could be the only one of its kind in the world.

The Last Supper automaton will be going to auction along with one of Pierrot Serenading the Moon by Vichy, and another large scale scene of a ship rocking on the ocean in front of a rotating backdrop of a city shoreline in Europe.

These three automata were featured in a traveling exhibition that toured Europe, Australia and New Zealand in the early 1920s, under the name of The London Mechanical and Electrical exhibition.

The auction is to be held on 25th February 2010 in New Zealand by Art+Objects under the name "The Newman Collection".

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Exploding and reassembling picture with gears

Here is a great wall-mounted kinetic sculpture featuring wooden gears and other wooden mechanical parts. The mechanism makes the frame of the piece come apart, then come back together. The piece is driven by an electric motor.

[ Thanks Art! ]

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Featured Maker: David Archer

I encourage you to visit the web site of Australian artist, David Archer.

Like many automata makers, Archer is adept at combining humor with mechanics. He says on his site, "One of the rewards for me as an artist, is the chuckle someone has as they look into one of the little scenarios I have created!"

But, look a little closer and you will find some substantial themes in his work. He enjoys approaching social issues though humor.

I've had the pleasure of seeing some of his work first-hand, and he really has a wonderful, colorful style with great attention to detail.

Visit Archer's Arcadia online.

Kangaroo Automaton from Australia artist

Michael Molesworth is an automaton-maker from Australia. Among his many Australia-themed works are several that feature the Kangaroo. Check out his work and his insightful take on automata in the "What are Automata?" section of his site.

Take a look at this Wooden Kangaroo Automaton