ExSTEAM Home Makeover

So recently i did a presentation about how technology has replaced the recognizable shapes from our landscape with these nondescript black boxes…. and how steampunk seems to have arisen as a response to the human yearning for a more tactile environment.

After visiting steampunkworkshop.com, i decided to try my hand at lamp-making, and have found it deeply satisfying. (as well as being a cheap hobby) After a long day of using my creativity to address clients’ needs, there is something therapeutic about assembling objects whose functionality is an afterthought. Many steampunk creations have utilitarian functionality, but these are more like night-lights… only existing to be looked at and admired… to add ambiance to your life.

Here is some of my latest handiwork:

And here is a mobile that i finished this weekend..

The plan is to stick it our skylight, and i’ve re-purposed a Victorian-looking night-light to put up there next to it so you can see it at night too. But to mount the light or the mobile, i need a ladder. And til now i never knew how damn expensive ladders are.

What’s really funny is how now that i want one, they’re all that i see. It’s freaking stupid. This morning i passed all these maintenance trucks and vans on the way to work, and they all had these shiny ladders attached to them… and i looked at them all longingly, and with great admiration.

(click for 1920×1200)

Next up on my to-do list, this steampunk clock. I drafted this out in Lightwave3D. I have the brass housing already (salvaged from a lamp i grew up with) and i’m hoping to get the nixie-tube clock kit this xmas… then it’s just a little woodwork and solder.

2 Comments

• 
  hapto November 5, 2009 at 12:02 pm

  I’ll bet someone you know has a ladder. You know burning man people. Or maybe some acrobats, who could stand 2-3 people tall and do the task.
• 
  SeventhSwami November 5, 2009 at 4:36 pm

  you’re right. and this could be a great opportunity to meet some of my neighbors