Automaton making

The history of automata goes back to ancient Greece. The Ancient Greeks were fascinated with the notion of creating mechanical living beings. They had very advanced engineering skills and managed to make partially animated statues to be used in ceremonies. Operated by levers and human powered, there are descriptions of using steam and water as a source of power too.

Through the centuries there are records of mechanical creatures and living beings including an animated lion made by Leonardo Da Vinci for King Louis XII. These mostly sought to replicate exact human and animal activity and the more ‘accurate’” an early automaton was seen to be, the more it was prized.

The 20th and 21st centuries see Automata emerging as a modern art form. School curriculums have given students the opportunity to make their own piece of kinetic art under the heading of Design and Technology. Today there is a great deal of interest in automata. Early examples fetch some of the highest prices in auctions. They are considered by many antique collectors to be the most valuable acquisition you can make. The art of animating the human form still fascinates us. Many modern toys now use electric motors and plastic gears to achieve this goal but the mechanical principles behind them go back thousands of years.

Automata today, particularly in the UK are often associated with humour, storytelling and the ‘anti-establishment’. They are often considered to be ‘toys for grown ups’.

There are a very wide range of skills involved in automata making including mechanical engineering, sculpture, carving, painting, decoration techniques, using recycled materials etc.
Paul Clarke, of the First Gallery, comments that “While not a technique, per se, a particular mindset is probably a pre-requisite.”

Related crafts:

• Music box making
• Fairground structures and machines such as carousel making

• Ageing workforce – Many of the makers now are elderly. If the skills aren’t passed on, the craft will vanish.
• Market Issues – There are a declining number of collectors, although the internet is seen a positive tool to introduce more collectors to automata.

Many new entrants to the craft are women and this is seen as positive for the future of the craft.

• Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
• The British Toymaker’s Guild

There are no formal training courses available in automaton making, although they may be included as an element of some degree courses.

Specialist short courses include:

• Cabaret Mechanical Theatre – Offers both online and in-person automata workshops. Check their website for upcoming sessions.
• Phoenix Studio – Offers a two-day hands-on workshop focusing on the creative use of cams, drives, and cranks to build kinetic art.
• West Dean College – provides courses on making automata, including experimenting with simple mechanisms and combining them with various materials.
• Fi Henshall Automata – Teaches at various locations in the UK and abroad

Individual makers:

• Paul Spooner, Fourteen Balls Toy Company
• Matt Smith, Fourteen Balls Toy Company
• Keith Newstead
• Robert Race
• Phillip Lowndes 
• Justin Mitchell
• Andy Hazell
• Lisa Slater
• Wanda Sowry 
• John Alden
• John Grayson
• Richard Hackney
• Melanie Tomlinson
• Mark Uttley, Muttley the Toymaker
• Tim Hunkin 
• Ian McKay
• Neil Hardy
• Michael and Maria Start, The House of Automata

There is a list of makers on the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre website.

Businesses with two or more makers

• Fourteen Balls Toy Company 

According to the British Toymakers Guild, automata making is thriving and is of ‘least concern’.

• The First Gallery, Southampton, keeps a stock of automata by various makers, and holds an automata-focused show about every two or three years.
• MAD Museum, Stratford, displays automata and related exhibits.
• Falmouth Art Gallery automata collection
• Rixford, Ellen, Figures in the Fourth Dimension (self published by Ellen F. Rixford)