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A lot of the metal objects I find are coated with coloured paint and branding. Occasionally I keep the paint on but to achieve a more unified and characteristic look I mostly strip the paint to reveal the metal undersurface. Sometimes I use paint stripper or a wire wheel in my grinder to remove the paint but the quickest and easiest way is to burn it off in a bonfire. It was dry and not too windy today so I took the opportunity to make a fire. Don’t worry, those gas cylinders didn’t explode; I drilled the valves to let out any remaining gas before I chucked them on!

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Today is my third roboversary! It was exactly three years ago that I decided to make my first robot. I can’t remember where I first saw it, but I was originally inspired by the work of New Zealand artist Martin Horsepool. Then, after a google image search of “robot sculpture, junk, found objects” etc etc, I realised that there were quite a few artist across the world making robots out of junk and I wanted to be one of them. So I went into my shed which, by accident rather than design, was already full of unwanted junk and gathered some bits together and made my first robot. He’s clearly less sophisticated than my latest creations but I hope you will agree he has just as much charm and personality.

People often tell me how their robomofo has become “part of the family”. I’ve just been sent this photo by Bridget from South Devon who is so attached to her robot that she has taken him with her on a camping holiday. “He’s less demanding than my children ever were and certainly no less useful”.

Do you know the Greek legend of Talos, the giant bronze robot whose job it was to protect Crete from invaders? In the days before electronics, microchips and A.I. he was brought to life by a magical substance called ichor which circulated through his body and could be topped up by removing a plug on the back of his heel, just like the filler cap on a car. So if you want your robomofo to help around the house or walk the dog all you need is a pint of ichor and a funnel and away you go. When foreign ships approached the Cretan coastline, Talos would throw boulders at them and if that failed to deter them, he would jump into a fire until he was red hot and deploy his deathly embrace, crushing and burning his enemies simultaneously. But Talos finally met his end when Jason (of the golden fleece legend) wanted to land on Crete for supplies. He had a witch on board called Medea who, with a bit of trickery, was able to remove the plug on Talos’s heel and syphon out his Ichor. I can’t help thinking he could have been brought back to life by a refill, but I’m no expert. Here’s how Talos was depicted in the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts.

With COVID restrictions lifting, I am once again happy to welcome visitors to my workshop. Mary and Ken from Norfolk had seen the robomofos exhibited in the Wireless Museum and were keen to have a better look at what I have on offer. If you want to see the robots on my “For Sale” page in the flesh then why not email me to arrange a visit?