The Wounded Child - Wall-mounted automaton by Paul Nitsche

Check out his beautifully executed wall mounted automaton by Paul Nitsche. titled The Wounded Child. The end of the video features some tantalizing still photos of the creation process and internal mechanism.

Here is where you can see more work by Paul Nitsche.

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Heath Robinson Contraptions - inventive cartoon contraptions

Yesterday's post about the Corkscrew contraption by Rob Higgs made mention of one of the Masters of the Contraption. While in the U.S. we may think of Rube Goldberg and his elaborate chain-reaction machines, in the U.K. they might be more inclined to think of Heath Robinson (1872 -1944). Robinson was an English cartoonist known for his drawings of improbable machines. Like Goldberg, his very name has become synonymous with quirky, ugly, improvised, silly, and overly-complex machines.

Here's an example of one of his drawings, though I should point out that this one is NOT in the book shown above.

From a review of the book:

Robinson's elementary mechanical world is brilliant and arcane--those ancient wooden cogwheels, intricate pulleys, fragile gantries, ingenious tunnels, magnets, and steam kettles kept on boil by a lighted candle or two; the whole enterprise held together by knotted string and operated by intensely serious workmen with a sprinkling of soberly top-hatted company directors in charge.

Here is a link to the book featuring Heath Robinson's drawings titled Heath Robinson Contraptions.

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Book: How to Make Whirligigs & Folkcraft Objects

I haven't stumbled upon this whirligig book before; I'm not sure why -- maybe because it seems to be out of print. The one review on Amazon is glowing. The book can be found used at a very reasonable price.

From an Amazon review:

The book is a treasure trove of ideas, examples, information and entertainment all centered around crafts and skills that have nearly vanished from our cultural landscape. I was looking for a few whirly gig plans and found so much more in the narrative examples and instructions that ranged from making animals out of pine cones, to traditional quilting methods! An added bonus lies in the amazing illustrations that accompany each item that are, by themselves, beautiful works of art. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in American folk craft, toy making, history or just an appreciation of an entertaining read.

Here's where you can get a used How to Make Whirligigs and Whimmy Diddles and Other American Folkcraft Objects.

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Wormanizer automaton with dual Geneva wheels

Check out this awesome automaton by Keith Seifert entitled "Wormanizer". The piece features a lovesick male inchworm pursuing a female inchwork around a circle. The piece cleverly users two geneva wheel mechanisms to produce the distinctive inchworm motions.

See more art by Keith Seifert on his web site.

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