Assemblage

5 Strin... 4 String Banjo ©

SOLD

52” Tall - 20” Wide - 6” Deep

Selected, Round Rock Arts Transformation Show

The banjo purchased at a thrift store. I first had to figure out a way to attach the clock gears to the drum skin of the banjo so they would hold their form. I then drilled holes to attach the old clock gears by tapping the shafts into the holes.
(The title comes from accidentally snapping a string when tapping in a gear.)

Punkolin ©

$1,200
27” Tall - 10” Wide - 5” Deep

The mandolin was a gift from a friend. People enjoy seeing my creations and often times will "gift" me with instruments. This friend played various instruments and said that this mandolin was damaged and would not carry a tune so he gave it to me. Since the mandolin was so beautiful I wanted to keep the design simple and compliment the beauty of the wood. In working with the brass clock gears I either use brass screws to attach them or when they have the post on the back I will find a drill bit a tiny bit smaller than the post, use that to drill a hole through the wood and then using a small hammer tap the gear into the hole to the elevation I want. Getting gears to overlap each other is the challenge.

A Commissioned Piece
43” Tall - 15” Wide - 12” Deep

They so loved my Merry-Tunes-Go-Round that they asked me to create one for them. The phone box, Junior Guitar and Victrola motor were purchased from different thrift stores. Marrying them all together was a bit of a challenge and getting the turntable to rotate took a bit of trial and error. But it all came together very well and they were very pleased with the final creation.

Childish Tunes ®

$625
21” Tall - 9” Wide - 3.5” Deep

What appears to be a child’s toy banjo was purchased from Broadway Paul’s Antiques & Salvage. Various coco clock parts and gears that I get mostly from the Ukraine that I first find a drill bit that is just smaller than the shaft of the gear and the drill and tap the gear into the body. Other parts are put on with screws.

The banjo not having a solid surface under the “skin” requires me to take it apart and cut a circular wooden disk that is attached under the skin to give me something to tap the gears into.

Hangs on the wall.

Mello Cello © SOLD

17” Wide - 45” Tall - 10” Deep

Cello purchased in a thrift shop. Half the fun of my projects is exploring thrift shops and junk stores finding objects and wondering
what treasures might be hiding inside. I also have some very nice friends who surprise me with objects that they have had for ever. The parts are attached with machine screws that are saved when taking apart old adding machines, calculators or various other items. Holes slightly smaller than the screw shaft are drilled into the wood so that the screws can grip the wood and hold the parts tight. I have a large assortment of drill bits. Glue is used only where screws cannot be used. Sometimes I will take parts apart and combine them with other parts to create new “old” parts. There is a lot of stepping back and visualizing what might be. The hardest part is realizing when it is time to stop, don’t over kill.

Most of the projects I create take 40 to 60 hours to complete.
The other enjoyable part of my work is watching people at my shows as they stair at my creations and wondering “what is going through their mind, what do they see”.

Steampunk Instruments

Click on images to see detail. Instruments do not play.

Selected - 91st Annual San Antonio Art League & Museum Juried Exhibition

Uku-Techie ©

$350
21” Tall - 9” Wide - 5” Deep

Selected, Round Rock Arts
"Love in Monochrome" Show

Ukulele was a gift from my son - well used. The circuit boards and electronic parts were attached with screws. Circuit boards and electronic parts were attached with screws. Circuit boards were photographed, created in photoshop, printed on label paper and applied as decals and then lacquer applied.

This is one of my White-On-White projects.

3 dimensional and free standing.

A HOOT of a Dulcimer ©

$1,200

46” Tall - 10” Wide - 5” Deep

The Dulcimer was offered to me from another artist who has seen my work on Facebook. Old clock gears and parts were applied with screws or holes drilled into the wood and the gears tapped in.

Hangs on the wall

Concerto No. 4 ©

$3,000

53” Wide - 18” Tall - 8” Deep

The piano keys were saved from going to the trash, driving 3 hours to Houston to rescue them.

The clarinet and flute were gifted to me by a friend and the cornet was purchased from a thrift store.
I built the wood frame and then created the musical score in Photoshop, printed it out on label paper, applied it to the keys, gave it 12 coats of varnish and then trimmed out the keys. The gears were attached by drilling a hole just smaller than the post on the gear and then tapping them in. No. 4 relates to the number of instruments in the piece.
Hangs on the wall.

Fluted Punk ©
Not Available

28” Tall - 5” Wide - 5” Deep
Flute saved from the attic.
Fun clock and old machine parts drilled and tapped in.

HOME

Time for the Dulcimer ©

$1,200

54” Tall - 6” Wide - 5” Deep

Selected, Round Rock Arts Transformation Show

The Dulcimer was purchased at a thrift store. Old clock gears were applied with screws or holes drilled and the gears tapped in.

Hangs on the wall

SOLD

8” Tall - 31” Wide - 12” Deep

The Coronet was purchased at a thrift store. It was in bad shape and had been spray painted gold. I tried using a blowtorch to remove the paint but it held fast. I had a silver Clarinet and decided to attach that to the Coronet and create a new piece. The challenge with this piece is that I attached 5 different light sources to it. Normally I only use one light source and adding 5 created multiple challenges; what types of sockets will fit inside, what types of bulbs to use and then there was the challenge of running wires from all the sockets through the tubing and out the back so it is hidden. This smaller piece took much more time than most of my other pieces.

SOLD

24” Tall - 11” Wide - 5” Deep

Selected, Round Rock Arts Transformation Show

The Mexican Mandolin was purchased while on vacation in Mexico. Holes were drilled and old clock parts were tapped in or attached with screws.

The finish was in bad shape so the surface was sanded and restained.

Selected - 2022 Corpus Christi Art Center Independents Juried Show

Winner of the Onderdonk Best of Show Award at the 92nd Annual Juried Exhibition presented by The San Antonio Art League & Museum. Now part of the permanentcollection at SAALM.
43” Tall - 17” Wide - 10” Deep

This piece combines an old hand crank telephone box with magneto, the hand crank motor from an old phonograph that still works and the signature steampunk guitar with all of it’s various old repurposed parts from old machines. The magneto and the phonograph motor provide the weight needed to steady the piece while the crank is turned winding up the mainspring so the turntable rotates. The hand crank had to be cut and shortened and re-attached using copper tubing that has been blowtorched to achieve the multi colors of the copper. This was an extremely fun project that took over 100 hours of thought, discovery and production.

$2,000

36” Wide - 9” Tall - 6” Deep

The piano keys were purchased loose in a box. Arranged keys and built the supporting box in 2017, then it sat in a cabinet for 2 years as I was not sure where to go with it from there.

The Clarinet was gifted to me by a dear friend in 2019. Wondered what to make with it and then I remembered the piano key piece.
I gave the wood a walnut stain and attached the clarinet. Wanted to keep the clarinet the main emphasis and keep the piano keys visible so I used the clock gears to marry the two together but not be an obstruction. Steampunk with just a whisper of steam.
Hangs on the wall.

$1,200
36” Tall - 7” Wide - 5” Deep
The Dulcimer was offered to me from another artist who has seen my work on Facebook. For this project I decided to go all steampunk with a post office theme. I had been designing a commissioned piece for a guitar with a post office theme and had already purchased several parts but the project never materialized so I used the parts on the Dulcimer. All parts are firmly attached with screws and the stamp images were photographed and printed on label paper and applied. This was a fun project.

Hangs on the wall