Robotics...

"I need electricity- If you wanna make me flip- Hit me with a micro chip- I'll be a diode, cathode, electrode- Overload, generator, oscillator- Make a circuit with me..."
'Make a Circuit'- The Polecats

Where would the 'future' be without robots? Not the kind that explore far away planets, or diffuse bombs, but ones like Rosie from The Jetsons, C-3PO, Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, or the robots gone bad in I Robot. The streamlined parts and geometric industrial shapes on robots like these help add style and intrigue to 'the future'- and inspire new mechanical creations like the one I did above.

Check out illustrator, and all around good guy, Danny Pelavin's robot page, which features robot art done by various illustrators. You can find one I did in the third row.

Some amazing mechanical men-and women made out of found objects can also be found on this cool robot site.

Intelligent Tinkering...

One of my favorite quotes is “The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts" by Paul Erlich. This could also be modified to apply to moving stuff out of and back into a workspace.

I had a new carpet put down in my studio last Friday, which meant I had to move everything out on Thursday, then move it all back in and get reconnected Friday afternoon. It was a little tough on the back, but worth it- and so far everything is back together and working. : )

I took advantage of having to empty cabinets and move flat files to go through a lot of the contents and get rid of stuff I no longer need. Illustrator 6 for Dummies, Photoshop 3 User Guides, a rubylith pad (!), outdated mailing lists, old promos, and now defunct ISP software were a few of the things that got tossed.

Like a lot of people, but maybe more than most, I like to collect things- lots of things. Everything from old ashtrays (ceramic and metal), to coffee mugs w/ company logos, to clothing hangtags, to matchbook covers. All are relatively modest compared to my collection of old paperbacks- which, like the kudzu in my backyard, continues to grow and take over my bookshelves. I've also collected a fair number of odds and ends which don't fit into any category other than they're stuff I like. When I put my studio back together I rediscovered some of these. Above are a few I scanned.