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I'm in the Central Valley of California but used to live in San Francisco. I loved the automata at the 'Musee Mechanique' then became more interested after seeing the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre exhibit at The Exploratorium in 2004. I am holding 'The Lion Tamer' that I made from a plan in 'The Art and Craft of Wooden Toys' by Ron Fuller. Here's hoping that I will be able to make some with my own design after these classes.

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Heya! I'm Jason and live in San Francisco. I'm a software engineer by trade but enjoy tinkering in the physical world as well.
I saw the 'Curious Contraptions' automata installation at the Exploratorium and have since wanted to build some of my own, I'm very excited to learn how!

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Hello All! I'm a shadow puppeteer/actor/visual artist in Brooklyn NY. I'm always looking to learn more about mechanisms and movement. This is my first automata class and I stoked to tinker with all of you!

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I'm Robin Russell Sanchez.  I live in Eugene Oregon.  I've been full time crafts person for all my life.  I make terra cotta pottery that is sold in galleries across America.
I wandered into the cabaret in the 80s and have loved little machines ever since. I've been dreaming of making my own for years and am very happy to be able to join the class. It's the best thing to come out of covid.

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I'm Pamela Kloppenborg from Berlin and I am really curious about what is going to happen when one meets people who think and strive alike.
Usually I build boxes like the one in the picture but they don't move. Hopefully this is about to change!

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Hello! I live in Denver, Colorado and spend most of my hobby time sewing quilts, but I love making all sorts of things. My house was built in 1924 and includes an operable milk chute that opens to our back porch. I've become obsessed with the idea of installing an automata work in there. I'm really excited for learning about this craft! In my day job I work for a company that has a large office in London, and all of my teammates are located there. I used to make a work/pleasure trip there every year and I haven't been able to since the pandemic--I miss London desperately.

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Hi fellow tinkerers! I'm Jay and I live in Massachusetts. I work as an independent teaching artist, leading workshops for kids in chain reactions and other creative contraptions, using household materials, toys, and other repurposed stuff. I've been trying my hand at building the occasional automaton for a couple of years now, and I feel excited to meet, work, and learn with you all!

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Hello! I'm a professional artist and have run a studio gallery in Folkestone for nearly 20 years. I love automata! I've made many from kits for my window display over the years but really want to learn how to create my own so that my window display really gets people talking. I'm looking forward to meeting other members of the course and sharing ideas!

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Hi All! I'm super excited to be joining this course with Ryan and co. I'm originally from Venezuela and been in London for over 15 years, currently working with Urbanwise.London as education officer. Have been following Cabaret Mechanical and Ryan for while (we met once at the Science Museum!)
I signed up as I love automata and interested in incorporating into our programmes with young people and families and hope to develop my maker education skills without burning with the glue gun! (always do...)

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Hi Everyone , I’m Ram and I live in Nottingham.

I became fascinated with automata when I visited the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in Covent Garden 30 yrs ago.

I have made automata from kits and have started a collection, my favourite is one made by Matt Smith.

However, I am new to tinkering. Now that I have time, I would like to learn more skills and start developing my own automata.

I look forward to meeting you all on the course and share ideas.

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Hi all, my name is Richa (pronounced like "rich" with an "ah" at the end). I am currently in Jersey City, just outside of NYC. I have a lifelong passion of crafting and tinkering. I recently completed my position as a Postdoctoral Researcher; my PhD is in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty is robotics.
I am taking some time off after many many years in academia and school. After a few months of doing nothing engineering related, I am so excited to step back in with this class! So much of my technical and research work has been on a computer, so I am excited to do something with my hands with such a diverse group of people!

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Hi there, Im co-facilitating this course for some of the sessions. I’m an art teacher and tinker for fun. I like to make automata from recycled cardboard and sometimes collage. I live on the South Coast, Hastings, U.K. and can’t wait to meet everyone.

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Hey! My name is Jake and I'll be co-co-co-co-facilitating this wonderful group.

I'm from Minnesota but I'm currently living in South Dakota on Lakota tribal land, doing some sustainable gardening work for a kid's camp. I've been tinkering and accidentally breaking expensive objects since I was a wee boy - for a couple birthdays in a row I made my friends bring old vacuums and computers and air conditioners from their houses so we could take them apart and make weird things.

I've worked as a dinosaur puppeteer, a river guide, a wool-spinning teacher, a hospice volunteer for penguins, and a couple other things that may or may not be real jobs. You can usually find me at http://fee.cool/

Excited to tinker with you all :^)

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Hey, ya'll. My name is Kate and I live and work in the Washington, D.C. area. I have worked on automata projects with students in the past and I thought that this would be a fine opportunity to build on my skills. My fascination with this medium began when I came across an Arthur Ganson exhibit at the MIT Museum four years back. I highly recommend taking a look at his work for inspiration!
I'm looking forward to meeting you all this week. Take care!

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Hi all... I'm Jane and that there above is my  cat and companion ... 'Fang'
He will, I'm sure, be watching all 'tinkering' activities from a distance.
I live in Cornwall in the UK and have been interested in automata now for some time. I was so happy to find this workshop online and I'm feeling super excited to be taking part, learning and being inspired. I am completely new to actually making anything automata, I usually spend my days playing with mud/clay, so I'm really looking forward to being able to fathom out the mechanics and put this into practice to create something wonderful. See you all soon... Jane x

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Hello. I'm Courtney.  I'll be joining from Brooklyn, NY.  I've been fascinated by automata since childhood. I'm now a hobby woodworker and have made a few simple automata but want to learn more.
With my kids just about launched I have time to take classes and get even more inspired.

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Hello, I'm Bob. I live in northern California. I came across automata when looking for ideas for activities for an after school class for 6th graders I have taught and am still developing that combines a makerspace setting with engineering/design thinking. It also seems like this could be very useful for introducing children to the use-modify-create framework used in learning programming. Plus, this looks like a lot of fun and a great hobby to pick up without risking cutting off a finger or two. I'm excited to be participating in a creative environment and learning from everyone.

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Hello, I'm Celeste. I'll be co-facilitating this workshop and making alongside you. I've been co-facilitating these workshops with our amazing team for a little while now and I'm always blown away by how inspiring and fun it is to learn and grow together.

A background in museums, makerspaces, art, and science led me to Boulder, CO where I'm a designer and researcher of creative learning experiences at the University of Colorado Boulder in a group called Creative Communities.

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Hello. I'm Sherry in Southern California. I am an inveterate tinkerer and spent the last several years making a collection of miniature shoes (harebrained, I know, but when inspiration calls what can you do?) This past fall, looking for new inspiration I built a couple of simple automata and fell in love. I had the great pleasure of visiting the 'Mechanics Alive' exhibit in San Diego and the enchantment was complete.

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Hi everyone. I'm Stuart from London. I am a hobbyist woodworker/woodturner. I've built a couple of automata by copying ones I've seen on the net. I'm looking forward to this course getting my artistic juices flowing and creating my own designs. And having some fun with you guys! :-)

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Hi all,
My name is a Vivian. I live in Florida and stumbled across automatons on the internet.  I have been captivated by the stories they tell. I have many ideas that I would like to put in motion.  If only I could figure out the mechanics 😁. I am here to learn and to share ideas. Looking forward to participating in this exciting group.

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Hello, I'll be joining you for the workshop getting inspired by you all and our guest artists. I live in Hastings on the south coast England where I love to swim and explore. Looking forward to tinkering with you. Lisa

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Hi I'm Ryan and I'll be hosting the course and helping out to facilitate the projects/activities.

I got introduced to the Cabaret Mechanical Theater when I was working at The Exploratorium (a science center in San Francisco). During my time there we got to know many of the automata artists and adapted activities to work in our Tinkering Studio space on the museum floor.

Over the past few years I've collaborated with CMT to help set up exhibitions and train facilitators in New Mexico, Arkansas, Germany and the UK.

I currently live in Freiburg im Breisgau in south-west Germany.  I'm really looking forward to tinkering with you all over the next six weeks.