I have legions of minions (both cybernetic and meatiform) so if you say 'steampunk' anywhere on the interwebs I'm liable to pop up in UR LJ or UR Flickr within hours.  Such was the case this morning when I discovered this marvellous machine built by banjo player Will Segerman for a musical group aptly named The Clockwork Quartet.

Will's Flickr stream is here (be sure to check out the Blunderbuss and Transparent Armour!) and if I were you I would sign up to the Clockwork Quartet's Facebook page. If these folks musicianship match Will's craftsmanship - they are going to be awesome indeed!

More pics after the cut!

TechnOccult inteviews wunderkammer artist AlexCF:

I guess it all started with this little box, called “The Vampire Legacy Case” about a 14th century aristocratic vampire, the last rites and possessions of this vampiric lord. I had the idea of creating an alternative past, creating characters and species with which to fabricate my own world in which all these things existed. So I started making, and the rest is history!

The Clockwork Hand by deviantart user Astalo is lovely in it's craftsmanship. It is, however, a strange cross between cyborg upgrade and flirtatious torture device- wear it for super strength or make someone else wear it, turn the crank, forcibly making the 'come hither' motion , over and over and over. 'Who, me?'- I would say, blushing- 'I do declare, I thought you would never ask..but oh, Mr. Wingspatersonton, however will you dance, tied to that chair?'

I want it.

The long awaited (release has been pushed back several times) cover art book for Fables has come out today. It compiles all the amazing and moving covers that James Jean has done for the series, issues 1-75.  The cherry on top that is really making me squeal with happiness- each and every one is accompanied by sketches and progress shots. Yoyza.

Every Wednesday since I've been traveling, I've searched out the local comic book purveyor to see if this book had come out, and the wait has been more than worth it. James Jean is a jewel of an artist- creepily beautiful, deadly sexy, and intriguingly surreal; his art knocks my socks off every time.

For some reason, Amazon has the release date as next week, but your comic book shop should have it now.

This morning I was telling my daughter about the creatures called "Cattails" that Larry Niven invented for World out of Time. 

I remember enjoying that book a lot but more than anything the description of the genetically modified cat/snake hybrid stuck with me.  It had the head of a cat and a fur covered snake body with cat paw leather on its underside.  There's a picture of one on the cover of the book.

She then told me about a piece she saw at the Decordova Museum in Concord, MA by Ria Brodell that featured Wormbunnies.

Wormbunnies!

Well, I just had to track those Wormbunnies down for you and you will find them here!

Cal Lane is quite a lady. Oxy-acetalyne torch in hand, she intracately carves out lace-like patterns out of shovels, wheelbarows, cars, and most impresively- full sized I-beams. Just looking at her work, I wish i was able to experience it first hand- These formidable, unwieldy, solid hunks of steel transformed into objects that look as light as a feather. It's both industry and craft. She has quite a bit of work on her unfortunately flash-crippled site.

The Romanian publication EgoPhobia has just released it's Steampunk Experiment.  It's really a wonderful take on the movment and includes a  great interview with artist Sean Orlando (© photo by John Curley)

I think that there are a lot of people out there who are simply dissatisfied with throwaway bottle-fed art and consumption artifacts that have been forced upon us by sheer repetition and rote consumption. So, as an antidote, we look to a time when care, design and artistry were applied to the everyday life in a more lasting way. We are appealing to a different non-dominant ideology.

But Sean's interview is just the icing on the cake!  The edition is chock full of interviews with artists that you have not heard of (yet!) and represents a different take on Steampunk then we're use to - and one I find really exciting and interesting!

Go now and and Read!

I have been tootling around Austin for a couple days now, guided mainly by locals scribbling favored destination on scraps of paper. I've visited (and took a dip in) Austin's famed Barton Springs park ("dude" an old hippie told me "it's, like, Austin's spiritual center"), drank Shiner Bock at the Driskill Lounge while the jazz band played the Super Mario theme, astride a couch made of a cow; and I've been attacked by a flock of Grackles.

One thing that has been bothering me, however, has been the total prevalence of the "keep Austin weird!" bumper stickers I've seen gracing every bike, minivan, lunchbox- If you're from that area, it very much akin to the "keep Tahoe blue" stickers adhered to a million car bumpers. I've been having a great time, to be sure, but I was beginning to think that the slogan was more of a city aspiration than actual reality.

Then I met the Junk King, and his home made Cathedral.

Much more after the jump..

One of the reasons that I hesitate to use the word "artist" in reference to myself is the fact that I have a talented sister who embodies that cognomen.  Today I have the singular pleasure of introducing you to the works of the very talented Morgaine von Slatt!

Morgaine has recently completed a series of mono-prints and with subjects like the cogs at right, the Antikythera machine and alchemy I think that you'll agree they are well in keeping with the Steampunk aesthetic.

Form her website:

You'll find three more images under the cut and you may click on any image to take you to Morgaine's site where you can purchase a print.

A few days ago, NIMBY, a warehouse near and dear to my heart, survived a fire. However, due to the fire, the owner of the building has decided not to renew their lease. They are now trying to find a new space.

NIMBY is an amazing place- Alan Rorie, who Interviewed here before, is a resident, but so many amazing projects have come out of there, its staggering: Kinetic Steam Works, The Steampunk Treehouse, Dance Dance Immolation, The Stagecoach of the Apocolypse, a few among many. Many artists also have their personal and proffesional spaces there. Not only that, but it has contributed much to its native west Oakland community.

Now, after years of helping bring great art to the world, NIMBY needs your help. They need to be out of their current space by December 31- which seems like awhile until you consider the hundreds of tons of machinery and delicate artwork that will need to be moved. The costs, needless to say, are crippling for this type of move. For the sake of all the artists as well as those who run the space, please donate what you can, using paypal, to NIMBYLLC@yahoo.com .