Links and things I find interesting...
Below you'll find links to automata artists that inspire me, and various useful sites that have helped me polish my craft a little more over the years.
Artists
Tamaya Shobei IX
I recently had the once in a lifetime experience of meeting Tamaya Shobei the Ninth. An amazing karakuri artisan and kind and generous gentleman. I was asked to participate in a Japanese Tokyo-TV show 'Who Wants to Go To Japan?' that aired July 20th, 2017. I spent nearly a whole week with Tamaya-san, and was treated to viewing many classic karakuri designs, including two national treasures. The TV program mannaged to arrange some amazing experiences for me, and I can be confident in saying I've become freinds with Tamaya-san.
I will add a page chronicling my experiences and what I learned (lots!) in the near future.
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Here's Tamaya-san posing with one of his re-creations, and also with my modest attempt at an Archer on the right!
Tamaya Shobei"s website can be found here: http://karakuri-tamaya.jp/en/index.html
Here's the show -
Paul Spooner
Paul is one of my favourite automata artists. I love his sence of humor and the whimsy of his contraptions. He fits a lot of charm into a small place! Below is a youtube vid just realeased for an exhibit of his work showing in SanFransisco.
More about Paul here: http://www.cabaret.co.uk/artists/paul-spooner/
Keith Newstead
Another big inspiration is Keith Newstead. His work is maybe not as 'dark' as Paul's, but much fun as well!
Website here: http://www.keithnewsteadautomata.com/my-work/
Dug North
Dug is another great automata artist who has a fantastic website and blog. You'll find current news and various interesting finds here http://blog.dugnorth.com/.
Website here: http://dugnorth.com/