Dug North's interview with Tested.com, the online home of Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage

I was glad to see Norman Chan and Will Smith show up at my exhibit at Maker Faire last weekend. Will and Norm manage Tested.com, which is the official online home of Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage.

Norman interviewed me on the spot. Here's how they describe the interview on the site:

Norm meets Dug North, a self-described "Kinetic Sculptor" who crafts wooden automaton sculptures. We learn about how automata work and Dug's process in bringing these elaborate wooden figures and dioramas to life.

The questions came fast. I did my best to keep up! During the interview, we cover a wide range of topics related to automata. I say a bit about automata in general, my process, my finished pieces, and what I plan to do next.

I've admired the Mythbusters since they first introduced their TV show back in 2003. For a guy like me, it is a huge honor to be featured on their site. My thanks go out to Norman, Will, Adam, and Jamie. It was a pleasure!

Here's a link to the interview on Tested.com.

UPDATE: Be sure to check out the follow-up article to this video interview in which I talk about the wood, tools, and techniques I use to make a wood automaton!

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Mekanikos vs. The Minotaur - automaton by Dug North at Maker Faire New York 2012

I promised more videos of my automata as well as some footage of the recent World Maker Faire New York 2012. Thanks to a visitor to my exhibit who took this video, I can show you both! This short clip shows me cranking one of my latest pieces which depicts a carnival sideshow scene titled Mekanikos vs. The Minotaur.

The automaton features Mekanikos (the world's strongest man according to the poster behind him) engaged in a struggle with a giant man-beast with horns. Turn the crank and the enraged Minotaur thrashes against the chains that bind him while Mekanikos uses his might to pull the monster back.

Below the stage another scene plays out. Clearly, there are two figures doing something, but what? And why? I'm going to leave those questions unanswered for now.

Each automaton I brought to Maker Faire had its admirers, but this one was undoubtedly the crowd favorite.

In the days to come, you can expect to see a far more detailed video of Mekanikos vs. The Minotaur.

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Automata by Dug North at World Maker Faire 2012

I participated in World Maker Faire New York for the first time this past weekend. Despite a bit of rain, it was a huge success all around.

Here's what my exhibit looked like moments before tens of thousands of people poured through the gates:

While I didn't get to see much of Maker Faire myself, I did get to meet a lot of people including fans, my favorite customer, readers, makers, Mark Frauenfelder, the awesome staff of MAKE magazine, Dale Dougherty (founder of MAKE Magazine and creator of Maker Faire), as well as fellow automaton-maker Philip Lowndes.

Here is a photo of my exhibit that I took quickly during a particularly slow moment. I received vast amounts of help from Julia Gavin and Bob Quinn (both shown behind the table in the photo below). I couldn't have done the show without them.

I won't kid you, it was all a lot of work, but it was well worth it for many reasons. I got to see thousands of faces -- young and old -- light up when the handles of my automata were cranked. That was tremendously gratifying. I also met many of you, the good readers of The Automata Blog. Thank you for coming by and for letting me know you enjoy the blog!

For those of you that couldn't make it, I'll be posting more videos of my automata on YouTube this week and perhaps even some footage of Maker Faire too!

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