3 minute read
Dark Side of the Moon
A medium sized clock set in a crescent frame. Oak and Walnut Size: 14”W x 18”H x 6”D $850.00
Award: Second Place, Brookings Art Commission, 2023 Fine Art Exhibition
The foray into the world of fine art with art clocks started with simpler clocks that were essentially derivative of art deco clocks of the 20's and an evolution through to clocks such as this that become sculpture executed in wood.
I'm often asked "where do you get your inspiration?" The most honest answer is "I dunno . . . I just start doodling and something comes out."
This award winning clock is the result of such "doodles." Below is the first sketch that started it all.
From that came a slightly more refined 3D sketch.
Ideas then progress to development in Sketchup, a very intuitive and easy to use modeling program.
From there a finer level of refinement as the clock is developed further in 2D in a cad platform. In this case its a program called IMSI Turbocad. I've been using it for years. Its powerful and easy to use and very underrated. From the 2D drawings come patterns and templates for fabrication.
Then comes fabrication.
A real challenge was finding a clock movement small enough to fit in the center. If I used the most common square movements either the central cylinder would be out of proportion to the rest of the clock or the really would be really huge. I was fortunate enough to find these small carriage clocks online. The only trade off is that they don't have enough torque to turn the larger hands I would have preferred. I made this clock before I had a wood lathe. A drill press was used instead. I continue to be amazed at how I was able to get the walls so thin.
I have won a few awards at art fairs for the overall body of work. This fall I entered two clocks in a local art exhibition and won 2nd prize with this one.
