GOODIES

Now the clown is painted

Some of the test heads, the 3rd from the right was done by Matt Smith from "14 Balls Toy Company"
http://www.fourteenballstoy.co.uk/
when he was in Australia (up here at noosa) Doing a teach at Cooroy, I got there in the last few hours of a 4 day show. So ALL of this is His fault in a way!!!!!!!!!
Above is the new Automata assembly desk (hope is that it will stay clear of most of the clutter (just the job at hand at the time)
And this is what I got myself to play with.





Now all I have to do this weekend is sort out the whole shed and get all this in a place for it to live .
Will need to shift all the Make Mess stuff out into the other room (stop the dust)

That was quick

I ran Mary-Anne down to Brisbane today and made the mistake of walking into the Arbotec Woodworking Tool store.
Now if there was ever a Heaven On A Stick for men that is the place, talk about toys for boys.
Luck was with me so I only could spend about 1 hour there, That hour may have cost me $4,000.00, but it was better than any roller coaster ride that is better than Sex.
I will unpack it all tomorrow and lay it out to take a photo.
I had decided that tooling up for Automata, was the only way to go as there is a lot of tools here that are better suited for making things like Teardrop Trailers and large art and general handyman type stuff whereas new the new direction is a lot smaller and a bit more precise.
see you next post

Jan 25th

So today I built most of the Bumper car and painted it.
From now on there is only the Mermaid and her tank to paint.
Then I will build it all and may the bumps and scratches be in nice places.
The photo on the box with the spray can of paint will give a good idea of the size this is going to end up, the box is oversize but you will get the idea.
Australia Day tomorrow and I need to clean the shed for the next major project.
"Mummy was a mermaid, daddy was the clown" will have to go on hold for a few days.

Sunday 24th Jan

Ok I admit defeat.
The learning curve that I am on needs a bit more than just plain no detail drawings.
SO........
There we go a bit more detail..
Reason is that there has to be some plaining for all the movements and as to where they will need to be.And now that I have the clown head I also have the scale of the whole dam thing (head is 50mm x 50mm)
I also painted the roof of the Mermaid Cage today and then the idea is that by the time all of it is built there will be age in and on the paint work.
get a pick of it dry tomorrow.

23rd Jan 2010

Today was a good day!!!
Had a talk to the man at Eumundi Markets and will start back about mid March.
Just have to build the new stall/mobile gallery and a bit of stock.
Brian Tisdall was at it with some of his street art (Hi Brian hehehe)Automata here be that drawing I was talking about, sorry about the coffee stain took a cuppa and a few smokes to get that out, NOT!
That is more than 99% of my art gets as far as planing goes, so out with some paper made a pattern of the roof section cut it from some lite tin and riveted it together. (48 rivets)

So the size of the whole is now sort of set (see the builders pencil in the background)
I added some dints to the lower edges and to the top, they will show up in a later post.

Book

OK today the 21st Jan 2010 I did start on the giant learning curve that will be Automata by TjC.
Got the word that there was a book in town that may be of some help so went in and got it.
"Making mad toys & Mechanical marvels in wood"
By Rodney Frost
Sterling ISBN-13:978-1-4027-4812-7
ISBN-10:1-4027-4812-4
So sat down and read it cover to cover, the style of automata is country, hand-made and a bit rough around the edges, bright colours and very quaint in there own way.
It gave me a good sounding in some basic and not so basic mechanical movements and I have seen some of the automata in this book in other guise built by others.
For me it was money well spent and a good plus for my library.
One of the things that has interested me has been the STEAM PUNK style and there has been a few Automata that is well done along this line, so my first automata will follow these lines.
I think it may be called jumping in at the deep end.
http://girlgenius.net
this site has a comix that I have been slowly reading for the last year or so when I get in the mood.
OK back to my 1st automata.
It is to be a steam powered 3 wheel wagon (circus style 30's and 40's American)
and the prize show piece will be a mermaid in a semi guilded cage all of witch will be semi aged (this will allow for the small blunders that are sure to happen).
I will post some semi drawings tomorrow. semi, in the sence that I don't normally draw in detail what it is I am going to do I just get an idea and just add to it untill i figure that if I add any more it will wreck the look I am after

It's Me

Just in case .

First Post

Dam that was quick!!
This is the fastest that I have ever been able to get on the web and leave a mark.

OK some history I have a web site that may die after I get to see what this blog can do (but it will run for most of 2010.)

http://www.tjcampton.com

I cut the web site to hell just after Christmas as it was filling up with a lot of this type of Dribble (but here it is OK)
I am now a lot closer to 60 than to 50, a male, have been a full time artist (Mainly Sculpture) for the last 14 years and now I just play and do what I want when I want.
SO ...This year I am going to play with AUTOMATA along with the normal art work that the gallery's like and I just may go back to the Eumundi Markets every 2 weeks.
I have not been there for 2 and a 1/2 years due to a small accident when the love of my life fell on me at the start of the 3rd rebuild, this is her "Tin lizzy"
She is a Morris Minor Ute.
She is made from about 6 cars and has taken the last 2 years to very slowly come together and there is still more to do to her.
1.. original 1953 ute MM
2.. 1948 front guards MM
3.. 1963 2door cab MM
4..1984 Toyota Corolla (motor box and diff)
5.. Holden Torana front discs
6..Datsun 120y Brakes
Err, 7.. Headlights and blinkers are from a retro scooter about 2008.
And what did she do to me? Tore of most of my right shoulder some of my left and cracked my spine and hip. BUGGER. been a slow 2 + years.
But they have Good drugs, the doctors these days so on average 9 pills a day and I can walk and talk and do things very slowly.
So the Big art is no longer and the new art is a lot smaller ...THUS..
AUTOMATA !!!!!!
Now I have had the workshop replanned and retooled and some lovely new stuff is on it's way.
Now this will be a learning curve I am sure.