Automata from Tom Haney

[Airicist]

Creator - Tom Haney (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?10474)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/V1vHehI1wjg

"Best Laid Plans" - 2014 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Sep 5, 2014


This is my piece for the "Small Indignities" show at Red Truck Gallery in New Orleans, LA. The show opens September 13, 2014, and runs through October 5th. This wonderful show is curated by Noah Antieau & Alix Sloan.

This piece is a kinetic figurative sculpture, or automaton, operated by a small AC gearmotor. A cam moves a lever, that pulls a line that runs up through one leg and into the chest of the figure.
The piece measures 25" x 24" x 6.5".
Hand-carved body from basswood and the head is sculpted from polymer clay. All mechanisms are made from scratch. The tree is a branch I found on our street. The kite, base, and background are all handmade.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/F0gLANH9dZ0

One for the Road - 2014 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Feb 12, 2015


This is a kinetic, figurative sculpture, or automaton, operated by a small 6 RPM gearmotor. The motor slowly spins a bent rod, that runs up through one leg, into the chest of the figure, and up to the head. Approximately 80 - 90 hours to complete.
The piece measures 13" x 26" x 7".
The body is hand-carved from basswood and the head is sculpted from polymer clay. The clothes, street sign, and wooden base are all handmade by me.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/QpGhpiWgq3U

"Circuitous" 2015 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Feb 25, 2015


This is a kinetic, figurative sculpture, or automaton, powered by a vintage Erector Set motor. The switching of the gears is controlled by a 1.5 RPM gearmotor inside the base.
The figure and the motor units are actually from an ill-fated piece I made back in 2012, and the carousel is all new and built from scratch.
The piece measures 26" x 19" x 17".
The figure is hand-carved from basswood, the head is sculpted from polymer clay, and her clothes are all handmade by me. The 8 chimes are from an old toy xylophone.

Music - "Jewel Thief" by Badly Drawn Boy

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/QKJ3LV8F3F8

"Bound" - 2015 Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Feb 28, 2015


This is a kinetic, figurative sculpture, or automaton, powered by an electric motor. Two cams and levers in the base control the movement of the arms.

The piece measures 11" x 20" x 8".
The figure is hand-carved from basswood, the head is sculpted from polymer clay, and his clothes are all handmade by me. The chains are mostly old clock weight chains, probably from a grandfather clock.

Music - "Le Soundtrack" by Dimitri From Paris.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/vG-aOCT1Qyo

"Computation" - 2015 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Apr 30, 2015


This is a kinetic, figurative sculpture, or automaton, powered by a crank. It was a commission from the people who do my taxes every year. The two cams and levers in the base control the movement of the arm and the head.

The piece measures 18" x 16" x 12".
The figure is hand-carved from basswood, the head is sculpted from polymer clay, and his clothes are all handmade by me. The gears are probably from an old sewing machine.

Music - "Movement III—Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise" by Sufjan Stevens.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/7blgTCfVMYQ

"Steadfast" - 2012 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Jul 6, 2015


A kinetic figurative sculpture, or automaton, operated by a small AC gearmotor. A cam moves a lever that rocks the teeter-totter up and down.
The figures are hand-carved from basswood and the heads are sculpted from polymer clay. The base, the mechanism, and the teeter-totter are all made from scratch.
The piece measures 30" x 21" x 6"

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/mUur7RxFjd0

"Wanderlust" - 2010 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Jul 9, 2015


A kinetic figurative sculpture, or automaton, operated by 3 small AC gearmotors - started in 2009, and finished in 2010.
One motor spins the globe, one moves the arm and head, and the other is a timing motor - it runs for a while and then switches the other two motors off. When the motors switch off, the man's pointer points at various places on the globe - in a random way, and never the same place twice. The man's arm and pointer swing just off the surface of the globe. In order for this to work correctly, the pin, (or axle), for the arm joint, had to be "pointed" directly at the center of the globe. I found that no other configuration would work.

The figure is hand-carved from basswood and the head is sculpted from polymer clay. The mechanism is made from scratch, and the case is an antique cabinet I found.
The piece measures 23" x 28" x 12".

Music is "Intergratron" by Dengue Fever.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/3ipDU2nkxTw

"Overwhelmed" (short) 2015 Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Nov 12, 2015


A short clip of my piece "Overwhelmed". The motion is produced by two cams and levers hidden in a box at the bottom of the pile of stuff. I hope to have a more detailed video with in-progress shots soon.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/7rfIkCvBGKE

"The Seeker" - A Gothic Hot Rod - 2016 - Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Jan 25, 2016


A Gothic hot rod. A kinetic, figurative sculpture, or automaton, operated by a small 4.8 RPM AC gearmotor.
Hand-sculpted polymer clay head, hand-carved basswood body, and handmade clothes.
Found object and scratch-built hot rod vehicle.
Handmade base with scratch-built mechanisms. The three cams, with three levers incorporating precision bearing, control the movement of the 2 arms and the head.
Just under 200 hours of work.

The piece measures 21" x 12" x 20". And is currently available.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/NnDyjVsIw6Q

"Homage to Dumas" - 2015 - Automtaton by Tom Haney

Published on May 14, 2016


This piece was commissioned by a woman who's been in love with the works of Alexandre Dumas ever since she was a child. Her idea was to portray a young girl, building a small sailing ship in the style of the Pharaon. Here she's in the wood shop, surrounded by tools, quietly working away.

The piece measures 14" x 18" x 13", and is powered by the crank out front.

Hand-sculpted polymer clay head, hand-carved basswood body, with handmade clothes.
Most of the items in the wood shop were made from scratch, except the table tops, which were made from found boxes. The base, the floor, and the walls are all made from scratch. The mechanism was handmade using 2 salvaged gears.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/PbaP0OkRnMY

"Cotillion" - 2016 - Dancing Couple Automaton by Tom Haney

Published on Sep 23, 2016


This dancing couple automaton was commissioned by a collector who admired my 2001 piece, "Marathon". This version is powered by an electric motor, which moves 4 cams and levers to control the motions. One cam for their right legs, one for their left legs, one for their arms, and one moves the platform (that holds the strings) side to side.

Hand-sculpted polymer clay heads, hand-carved basswood bodies, with handmade clothes. The stage and all the mechanical parts are made from scratch - except I used precision bearings as cam followers.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/52Q4MKYyabw

"What I do - and what I can do for you" - Automata by Tom Haney

Published on Jan 15, 2018


Here's a quick overview of what I do. Originally, it was for a Feature Video for my YouTube Channel, but YT just recently got rid of the feature. Oh well, here it is anyway.

Feel free to contact me about any commission idea you might have. And I do commercial projects for businesses, museums, and interior designers. I'd love to talk with you about the possibilities.

Music - "A Hundred Orchards" by John Mark Nelson.