Jay Mankita @ AutomataCon 2024

I presented my hands-on workshop in crank & linkage mechanisms at the Automatacon www.automatacon.org/ at the Morris Museum morrismuseum.org/ in Morristown NJ. This was an incredible gathering of our wonderfully crazy and talented niche community of makers, collectors, and enthusiasts in the world of mechanical automata. Huge for me to be invited like this; I felt so welcomed, and enjoyed meeting with some of my favorite folks.
My own low-tech projects exhibited side by side with the fine craftsmanship and precision engineering exhibited by some of the amazing artists and makers present. In some of the many conversations I had throughout the conference, I felt most appreciated for my work in helping build easier 'access-ramps' for ordinary people (like me) to experience making extraordinary things from ordinary stuff.
I feel grateful to have worked with videographer Victor Buitrago and his assistant Paul Diaz, who really captured the feeling of my workshop, and of the AutomataCon in general - a true professional who I would highly recommend.
My friend Marsha Shandur was a very helpful assistant.
The makers who are featured in this video deserve your attention. They are:
David Bowman
/ salvagedolls
Randall Cleaver
www.randallcleaver.com/
Bradley Litwin
/ @blitwin
Treiops Treyfid
realmoftheshadowpuffs.squares...
Ave Rose
averoseart.com/visual/gallery...
There were of course, many more makers present who were not included in this video, but you might love their work as much as I do:
Chris Fitch
Chrisfitchsculpture.com
Tom Haney
www.tomhaney.com
Pat Keck
www.patkeck.com
Elizabeth King
elizabethkingstudio.com
Aaron Kramer
www.urban-objects.com
Lu Lyu
lulyu.me
Cecilia Schiller
www.ceciliaschiller.com
Mark Rosen & Wendy Marvel
www.mechanicalflipbook.com
See the full list with links here:
www.automatacon.org/attendees