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Steambots

The “Steambot” night light was a project that brought me back to my childhood fascination with mechanics and robots.  It was first conceived and made for some dear friends for their son Eli’s first birthday.  By mixing reclaimed industrial metals of different alloys and textures with some color accents, I wanted to create something useful for the nursery, but also, with some luck, cool enough to be displayed in Eli’s dorm room, and eventually his children’s nursery.  I found that while creating something both adolescent and “cool”, it’s a fine line between being nurturing and spooky.

The night light is made entirely of found and reclaimed objects.  The base of the robot is made from an old Vietnam War mess kit, and the arms and legs from a 1970’s atomizer used for facial treatments. The head is a vintage tea infuser, topped with a piece from an old toy traffic light and a clear camera lens that diffuses the small bulb inside.  The circular breast plate covering the second bulb is from a French espresso machine and the shoulders from a vintage egg slicer.  If you look closely, you will also see accents made with the tops of small salt shakers used to thread the wiring exoskeleton.  



The remaining pictures in the gallery above are of some subsequent Steambot commissions, and I am always happy to build more!

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