In 2012 I ran across an article about Steampunk and was instantly attracted to it. As a genre it mixes all of my favorite things: odd gadgetry, the use of many mediums, and an excuse to go antique shopping. It also is a form of rebelling against those everyday "modern" objects that are made cheaply and sold by the millions. The Steampunk aesthetic celebrates the way everyday items USED to be made, like clocks that actually ticked-and still do 100 years later-and steam engines that moved us into new eras.

 

In conventional art exhibits, people look at a piece of artwork for approximately seven seconds before moving on to the next piece. This is rather annoying when you have put your heart, soul, sometimes blood (I'm not always great with the tools I use) and possibly months of work into a creation.

 

My goal in recent years, has been to encourage the viewer to interact and even play with the artwork. It forces the viewer to become a necessary part of the artwork, you might say its power source, which eliminates the seven-second-glance and makes things much more interesting. If you visit one of my exhibits you will find krakens, periscopes that let you peek at a bearded lady, a portrait with a heart that beats, dirigible races, scientific items re-thought as well as other interactive work. There are also objects that are just fun to look at.

 

Many of the ideas for my work are inspired by simple children’s toys and scientific gadgets. Working the bugs out of simple machines is part of the creative process and although it can be frustrating at times, it brings me a lot of joy (especially once it works). I think you will find it quite amusing and I hope you enjoy these items as much as I have enjoyed making them.

 

With Band-aids and Crumpets, 

Joan Emmett

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