ARTHROBOTS are unique creations that reflect the personal artistic inspirations of Tom Hardwidge. Tom is a digital art director and native to the UK, birthplace of the industrial revolution. He refers to his arthrobots as "original steampunk arthropod sculptures." (#8) His creative artistic nature, fascination with insects and appreciation for the industrial revolution has combined to create some amazing pieces. These arthrobots are small, intricate and contain similar style parts to early industrial machines. His creations are made using hand held tools and mostly small pieces of old hand and wrist watches. He has also used an assortment of other mostly metal materials such as ammunition, spoons, propellers, blades, LED lights, glass and wood. His arthropod collections include insects of many orders and families plus arachnids.
According to Tom, " Each Arthrobot starts its life as a series of sketches, some take their inspiration from nature, others from bits and pieces of metal and beads which form an unusual structure or fit together in an interesting way. After they have been planned out (very roughly) they start to take shape in my dining room where I have all of my tools and materials laid out to prevent any actual dining from taking place." (#8)
According to Tom, " Each Arthrobot starts its life as a series of sketches, some take their inspiration from nature, others from bits and pieces of metal and beads which form an unusual structure or fit together in an interesting way. After they have been planned out (very roughly) they start to take shape in my dining room where I have all of my tools and materials laid out to prevent any actual dining from taking place." (#8)
Tom's ARTHROBOTS (Robodonata)
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Arthrobot Taxonomy:
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Scientific Taxonomy:
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"Phylum: Arthrobot
Class: Machinsecta Order: Robodonata Suborder:Mechanisoptera" (#8) Phylum: Arthrobot
Class: Machinsecta Order: Robodonata Suborder: Zygopteroid (#8) |
Phylum: Arthropod
Class: Insecta Order: Odonata Suborder: Anisoptera Common name: Dragonfly Phylum: Arthropod
Class: Insecta Order: Odonata Suborder: Zygoptera Common Name: Damselfly |
More of Tom's amazing Arthrobots from the order Robodonata below: www.arthrobots.com Photos by: Tom Hardwidge (#8)
Slideshow of ARTHROBOTS from other classes or orders below - www.arthrobots.com Photos by: Tom Hardwidge (#8)
Each of these Arthrobots and more are available on his website, blog and facebook page (links available on the references page). More information and pictures relating to each piece are available as well. Tom started selling these pieces in 2010 with the average piece selling for around $200. Unfortunately, I was too late for now... After contacting Tom through email he mentioned "unfortunately my workshop is out of action for the foreseeable future so I won't be taking on any new commissions. Thanks for the interest in my work :) Cheers, Tom" His precision, attention to detail and creativeness have probable created a demand much bigger than the supply. He has also been featured in many media forms since the release of his arthrobots and has become somewhat of a local celebrity, understandably.