![]() Each family and their derivatives are a bookmark in history, and lend themselves well to sculptural reinterpretation. Working with the geometries of escapements is incredibly fascinating. Specifically those from the Grasshopper and Gravity families. My interest has always been clock escapements. If any of the designs are of interest they’re available by commission. I’ve recently published the designs in Chronometric Concepts, available free through The Naked Watchmaker. Lately, though I’ve had the opportunity to delve more deeply into the work with a more classical approach building on ideas I’ve had over the past couple of decades. My early work was more of an abstraction of horological norms, so I considered it to be more horologically inspired kinetic art than true clockmaking. I began experimenting with sculptural clock making in the mid-nineties. All have unique approaches and styles to their work. Miki Eleta, Florian Schlumpf and Jean Kazes in Switzerland, Philippe Wurzt, Matthius Naeschke and David Atkinson in Germany, Eric Frietas, James Bordan, Nathan Bower, Rick Hale and David Walters in the US, Robert Bray of Sinclair Harding and Brian Law in the UK, myself in Canada and Will Matheson and the Buchanans in Australia to name a few. Burgess subsequently created some remarkable sculptural clocks largely based on the work of John Harrison (1693 – 1776).Īlthough watches tend to dominate the horological landscape a small group of contemporary independent clockmakers take a sculptural approach. In the 1970s, Martin Burgess, an English sculptural clockmaker mused aloud that there was an opportunity to draw on our horological history to create a radically new approach to Horology. Although for the most part I’ve long since left restoration to explore sculptural clockmaking, I still draw on the incredible history I’ve been exposed to in my career and utilize the technologies available. As creators, the fascination is compounded by the potential of this art form and with the advent of current technologies it seems this potential is limited only by imagination.įor myself as a former restorer, every new project added another layer of appreciation, revelation, and an opportunity to learn. Whether we arrive here appreciating a history full of stories and legends, or as creators or aficionados it's no wonder that the craft becomes so consuming! Horology has always been fertile ground for the creativity. This is particularly true when there’s an opportunity to consider items firsthand. This is obvious to anyone with a casual interest in horology but for those with a deeper involvement, it drives our fascination to a degree where we frequently marvel at the skill and thought given to even the most mundane components. Her father’s occupation is the least-interesting aspect about her, and an odd choice for the title of this book.There are few crafts that combine science, mechanics and aesthetics so comprehensively as Horology. I wished that the author had omitted some stories to allow more focus on others, but it is possible that other readers, particularly fans of Morton’s other novels revolving around country houses, will prefer the more extensive approach.Ī minor quibble, but the “clockmaker’s daughter” of the title is the pickpocket and artist’s model “Lily Millington”. Towards the end of the novel the pace picks up for the enthralling reveal of the titular clockmaker’s daughter’s fate, but this is an exception to the more moderate tempo of the rest of the novel. This book is best read as a gentle saga, flowing in and out of various lives. It is hard to get emotionally connected to any of the characters, especially the present-day heroine, Elodie. The large number of stories makes the book a little fragmented. The blurb describes the novel as “a story of art, love and loss”. ![]() The most interesting story revolves around one summer in the life of the Victorian painter Edward Radcliffe, resulting in the tragic death of his fiancée. In the present day there is a young woman who is about to get married, but her story is background to the stories of the past, all relating or leading in some way to Birchwood Manor. Indeed, the solutions to all of the mysteries around secret identities, unknown or missing parents and stolen jewels are fairly predictable. There is a missing diamond, but this is not a crime novel. There is a ghost haunting Birchwood Manor, but this is not a haunted house story as such. It is difficult to categorise the new novel by Kate Morton, author of The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours.
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