I process time through the way I make things — there’s the concept of productivity in a capitalist sense, but as a creative person I also resonate with the idea of making things just for the sake of it. I’d like to make a clock that draws something every day.

I collected some possible references:

Of these, I was drawn to making something based on a cycloid drawing machine; I liked how the turning of the gears echoes the turning of a clock, and it would allow for more precision/control than a harmonograph. Inspired by a conversation with Mary, I also started thinking about the idea of drawing with sand, as a meditation on the temporary nature of all things, even the art we create.

I decided to start with a drawing machine that used a pen, with a motor turning the driving gear at a constant rate, then try to add the sand. I started with a very basic cardboard prototype of the mechanism to figure out what I’d need to model/source.

IMG_7756 2.HEIC

From this, I made a more complete version of the model in cardboard. I didn’t end up having time to continue the project as my final due to illness, but I would love to come back to it some day.