Scottish artist Oliver Pett, A.K.A. Mechanical Creations, invents and makes the most amazing automata I’ve ever seen. He says he was inspired to start making his moving works of art by his childhood trips to the Cabaret Mechanical Theater in Covent Gardens.

“I always knew in the back of my mind that automata was what I was going to do for a living one day, but I was never ready for it. It involves everything that I love to do. It’s not one particular skill. It’s vast. Because I love learning all the skills, whether it’s pottery or sculpture, carving, cabinet making… It just involves everything and that’s why I’ve stuck with doing automata.”

Pett creates his carvings by hand, then when it’s time to animate them, he works on a computer to get the gears and dimensions right. It’s a fascinating process, and maybe one of the most successful blends of traditional art and technology I’ve ever encountered.

You can follow Oliver Pett and Mechanical Creations on his website and on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.