Work-in-progress

This will be a carousel-like horse rearing up inside the hoop so the back side will have to be much heavier than the front  This piece is going to be a lot more detailed also.

New horse-in-hoop

Finished this one and the one below this weekend.  I really like the way the stars look on the inside of the hoop and sides of the hoop and will probably start incorporating them into future pieces.  This piece and the below horse-in-hoop will probably be placed on Etsy.com to see if I can drum up any interest.  Pieces are approximately 11" in height.

Another Horse-in-Hoop

 Horse nearly completed, still needs a bit of sanding and thinning.

 Finished painted horse before distressing and staining.

Test of how one of my carved Horse-in-Hoop balances and rolls.  Based on an old tin children's toy from the turn-of-the-century.   The piece was a wedding gift to a friend.  Not the best video however it gives you the idea on how it functions.

 

Video of how the cupid automata works.  Music by I Am Kloot.

Horse-in-Hoop

Wedding gift for a friend.

New automata

Based on a piece by Aquio Nishida (see post below).  This was a gift to a friend of my Mother's whose daughter graduated from medical school and received her first ER residency. Click on the image to make it larger.

Cupid automata

This is a cupid automata that I made for my girlfriend for Valentine's Day.  It's based on a piece by Aquio Nishida from his excellent book Automata: Movable Illustration.  The book is mostly in Japanese and can be order from the folks at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre:

http://www.cabaret.co.uk/store/books/movable-illustration/

Below you can see a video of Nishida's piece and how it moves.  I don't care for the paint job and if I make another one I'll construct the wings out of copper and change the figure more.

New Horse-in-Hoop carving

Another of the Horse-in-Wheel carvings.  This one a little different.  The tail is carved verses the recycled fringe from an old rug I've been using.  The horse is thinner and more one dimensional with the front and back legs not separated.  The hoop is smaller also.  The height of the piece is approximately 10".   This is a gift for a friend of mine who is a professional horse trainer.  The front of the horse was cut open and hollowed out so it would balance.  A little note was sealed inside when the piece was glued back together.

The next one I do will sit on a stand that is motorized so it can spin in place.  I think it will look very nice.

New Horse-in-Hoop carving

The front of the horse has been hollowed out so it remains balanced.  Inside the hollowed out section is a note with the date and who it was made for.  This one rolls really nice across the floor and I really need to get a video of it in action.