The Story of "The Captive" Automata.
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I saw a wonderful piece at Automatacon 2018 of a small boy trapped in a glass bottle. I decided then I had to try something similar. My childhood memories include trips to the cottage and observing the creatures of nature, snakes, frogs, dragonflies, minnows, and the like. This automata creation tells the story of one such situation.
A young boy has captured Chester the bullfrog and put him a large glass bottle for observation. He's added some stones, and a little water in the jar to simulate his environment , but as a frog it is less that satisfactory. Even the addition of a fly does not dissuade Chester's desire for freedom. He is truly bewildered! He looks back and forth and blinks his eyes, he occaisionally opens his mouth as if to sigh, and restlessly taps his right foot on the stone impatiently. As he he contemplates his situation he executes a simple plan. He will tap on the glass with a pebble from the jar and hopefully attract the attention of a passerby who might free him. So far he has been unsuccessful, but with limited resources he soldiers on. Poor Chester. |
The original concept sketch of Chester the frog.
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Automata "The Captive" Video
The Making of "The Captive" Photo Gallery
When building a piece like this where I wish to hide all the actuation mechanism around the character I have to install parts of the mechanism while I carve the frog. The head is built of three pieces which is necessary to get the eyeballs, eyelids, and mouth links in place. The photos below show some stages of this assembly process. Some additional commentary can be found in blog entries of December 2018 and January 2019. The frog and main mechanism is made to drop through the neck of the bottle and mesh with the handle that extends through the right side of the jar. It fits into a cradle that holds in place within the bottle. The arms are fitted after the frog is dropped into the jar. Once everything is attached he is trapped inside.
These gears are the smallest handcuff gear made from plywood I have ever made.
These gears are the smallest handcuff gear made from plywood I have ever made.
