Monday Inspiration: Anatomy of a Cuckoo Clock

I see so many things each week in real life and my cyber life that inspire me and thought, why not give them a special day on the blog? My inspiration this week is from my visit to Triberg last weekend where I visited one of the last woodcarvers that still creates hand carved, one-of-a-kind cuckoo clocks by Robert and Christopher Herr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Robert Herr family has been hand carving cuckoo clocks for five generations and they are so gorgeous! It was wonderful to hear the passion and excitement when they described their craft. To learn that a clock can take hours of patience, dedication and skill to make a beautiful work of art.

The inner workings of a cuckoo clock.

Did you know that a cuckoo clock is NOT run on batteries? That the cuckoo noise actually comes from little bellows inside that generate the noise using air? That cuckoo clocks became popular in the Black Forest because farm land was poor and they would spend the winters carving clocks and other items to sell to peddlers that would come in the Spring? As I listened and learned I could only think… I need to learn how to carve wood!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I stop and think, why do I have this drive to create things? Why do I spend time pouring over color combinations, painting (ok finger painting most of the time!), practicing my sketching and learning techniques when I could simply watch a tv show or go out to dinner like so many other people. Then I meet other individual’s passionate about their work and it inspires me to stay motivated. Amy Tangerine posted a wonderful quote on twitter today from Gretchen Rubin, “Time, money, or energy spent on things I love is never wasted.”

What is inspiring you to do what you love this week?

An art tip if you are our planning a trip to Triberg and want to purchase some altered art supplies, head to the House of a Thousand Clocks and look for a bin of broken cuckoo clocks parts near the back. I purchase several wooden clock faces that stated made in Germany and hand carved clock weights to make into Christmas ornaments for less than 25 euro! An inexpensive and wonderful way to capture your trip.