Automata

35mm Movie Projector Movement

This is a model of the film movement from an old 35mm movie projector used in theaters 1n the 1920s. The intermittent motion uses a Geneva mechanism to interrupt the frame. I ran some old film for a minute or so in a loop, but the wood isn't strong enough for real projection

12"  by 10" by 5" —Lati, grey oak, paldoa, and ash, on a maple base, with a walnut frame. 2025

1900s Carousel

This is another kinetic piece in the form of an old-time carousel. As you turn the crank, the stage rotates and the horses move up and down. They are based on Eduard Muybridge's  famous 1878 horse photos, where he proved to railroad baron Leland Stanford that a horse gallops with all four feet in the air and ushered in motion pictures.

12"  by 14" by 9" —Lati, bubinga, white ash burl, maple burl, and oak. 2025

Quotas

Roger Wagner (of HyperCard fame) asked me to do a project using his MakerPort Artist Animatronic set. This piece voices a famous quote when one of the buttons is pressed, and when the aperture opens, the person who said the quote is revealed on an LCD screen. Check out the movie: https://youtu.be/60DqQNPNY_8 which also shows how it was made.

10" x 12 x 4"  --- Eucalyptus, walnut, lati, birch, and maple. 2025

Geneva Zoetrope

The zoetrope was a 19th century way to show moving images before movies. This version uses a Geneva drive mechanism, used in film projectors to provide the intermittent motion animation needs. Works surprisingly well, considering  it's made out of wood. The animation is from Eduard Muybridge's1878 photo series, proving that all four legs of a horse were in the air together.

10"  by 13" by 3" — Sapele, lark, paldoa and birch. 2024

Constructivist Aperture

Another attempt to render film mechanisms into wood. The circular  contraption is a working iris-style aperture, which reveals an exclaimed eye when rotated open. Loosely inspired by Laszo Moholy-Nagy's work in the 1930s.

12"  by 12" by 1" —Padauk, lati, and wenge on birch. 2024