Lessons in The Composition of Steampunk Gizmos

Morning folks,

The  road to Steampunk has been a fascinating journey for this slave of convention!  It plays with most of what I call "good design".  The stretch has been very good for me!.

I am now at the stage with my floor build that I am beginning to "design" the Steampunk gizmos that will be in the new floor.  I'm moving beyond the basic resin castings to combining bits and parts to create the Steampunk vibe.  And in doing so, I am having to learn a new way of thinking.

My initial arrangement concept for the Entry Floor

When I was first laying out the concept for the Entry floor, I was laying out lots of little circles in somewhat regular and "balanced" ways...
you've seen the photos, but I'll bring one of them forward for your convenience.

Thinking I had done very well, I showed my concept to my daughter and my wife, who both oohed and ahh'ed quite appropriately, and then my wife stood over the arrangement and pursed her lips...

Photo courtesy of Andrew Mitchell - Flickr

now I know my wife...and pursing lips is not a good sign!

She walked away without commenting further....leaving me wondering where I had gone wrong!  After all, I was quite proud...peacock feathers up and waving...

Later that evening, she revealed her hidden thoughts to me in the presence of my daughter....she told me that she didn't think I was quite there on my Steampunk theme.

Flabbergasted, I asked why!  Upon which my daughter quickly came over to the table and joined in the great fun...

They informed me that everything was too uniform. 

(Boring, in some languages!)

Steampunk Industrial Composition by Valeriana Solaris - Deviant Art

"Steampunk is not ordered...it is unconventional...everything in your arrangement is too perfect."

At which point my daughter picked up all of the resin cast and metal gizmos and dumped them back on the table in a pile....and said...

"There, That is Steampunk!"  

Lo and behold...she was right!  

So that sent me back to the drawing board...looking at how to arrange and re-arrange the gizmos in a way that was more Steampunk-like!  

After much re-positioning, re-assembling, and a bit of confusion as I attempted to recreate chaos...I finally arrived at something like this....which I think you have also seen...

Second Stage Concept...less regular but still not feeling right

Still, in my heart of hearts, I knew that I had not yet obtained Nirvana...."Steampunk" was eluding me...mostly this just looked busy and chaotic to me...it was still missing that essential vibe.....

So..since then, I have been playing with gizmos...sorting, stacking, adjusting...overall, obsessing about it all.

Finally, I started just picking up the bits and parts and stacking them without thinking much about it...just dabbing something in here....a little something there....doesn't that feel a bit like a hole...plug it with this....and so on....

Then....the moment....(camera pans into my ecstatic smile)...

NIRVANA!!...

or at least as close as I could come!  So of course, I must share!

Here are some of the photos of the "new Steampunk" look...

Clock-punk?

I think I have finally started to "get it"...Steampunk that is... 

Sundial punk?

 "Its a chaotic mess that you have to balance just perfectly or it doesn't look right, causing people to point and laugh".  

Shield punk?

I'll let you be the judge of whether or not I succeeded in "getting the vibe", but I think I am getting closer all the time!  

Jewel punk?

Maybe I'll really be ready when I finally know how I am going to pour that resin over it all...

[he mutters to himself].

I'll save the rest for later, and give you something to look forward to!

Meanwhile, I HAVE also started building my mock up mold for the resin cast floor.... here is a quick preview.

I'll let you know how that turns out!

Until next time!

Doug S