Cuckoo Clocks and S-Town-A Peek-a-Boo Project

 My father brought back a Cuckoo Clock from when he was stationed in Germany during WWII near the Black Forest Region. That Cuckoo Clock was a permanent fixture in my childhood home. I was mesmerized by its intricate carvings and fascinating features. the first podcast I ever listened to was S-Town, whose main character a horologist, a time keeper repairman, these are the inspirations for this artwork. 

Supplies:  GSLC Cuckoo Clock, Bookboard, Ruler, Cutter, Scrap Paper, UHU Gluestick, Embossing Ink, Embossing Powders Brown, Wooden Grain Embossing Folder, Fan Brush, Various Shades of Brown Acrylic Paints, Artist Cloth, DecoArt One Step Crackle Finish, Glossy Accents, Watch Parts, Clock Face Embellishment, Design Cream Gold Paint, Art Alchemy Metallique Hazelnut Acrylic Paint, Golden Heavy Gel Matte Medium, Colored Pencils, Matte Varnish, Liquid Pearls

1.  Gather Supplies.

2.  Cut a Piece of Bookboard, Mine is 5 by 10 Inches.

3.  Choose Pieces of Scrap Paper to Add an Interesting Background, Cut and Use a UHU Glue Stick to Attach.

4.  Use Embossing Ink, Brown Embossing Powders and a Wooden Grain Embossing Folder To Add "Wood Grain" to GSLC Cuckoo Clock Top Portion.

5.  Use a Fan Brush and Various Shades of Brown Acrylic Paints to Continue the Wood Grain.

6.  Use and Artist Cloth Brown Paints to Add Patina and Distress You Prepared Background.

7.   Cover Background With DecoArt One Step Crackle Finish, Allowing to Air Dry Fully.

8.  Use Design Cream Gold Paint to Paint  Top Part of Cuckoo Clock Balances.

9.  Use Art Alchemy Metallique Hazelnut Acrylic Paint to Paint Bottom Portion of Cuckoo Clock Balances.

10.                Use Golden Heavy Gel Matte to Secure GSLC Cuckoo Clock Parts to Background.

11.                Use Art Alchemy Metallique Hazelnut Acrylic Paint to Paint Inside of "Windows" of GSLC Cuckoo Clock.

12.                Use Glossy Accents to Secure Watch Parts and Clock Face Embellishment.

13.                Use a Colored Pencil to Fill in the Cracks from the Crackle Finish and to Distress Edges of Background.

14.                Use Liquid Pearls to Add Details to Background.

15.                Use Matte Gel Varnish to Seal the Entire Piece of Art.

 

Some Final Thoughts:

I wish I would have found and taken the Black Forest Cuckoo Clock my father brought back from Germany, that was a great memory from my childhood when we sold the Ole homestead a few years ago, but it was nowhere to be found in the many boxes shoved into the ancient attic. I may one day splurge and buy a one as a replacement for our condo, but of our limited space it would need to be much smaller.  I am fortunate that I have a musical beer stein my dad gave to me years ago, a nice remembrance of our German heritage.

S-Town tells the story of John B. McLemore, who despises his small Alabama town, where he alleges there is a murder that is being covered up by a wealth family and police corruption. It is described as an investigative journalism, serialized audio narrative meaning it tells the story through recordings of many of the key characters and added narration to tell the back story.

One such conversation:

One day, John was on the phone with me, and he looked out his window and started listing off the flowers that were in bloom in his yard, and the ones that were dying. He sighed and said,

JOHN B. McLEMORE:

It's tedious and brief. That's a sundial motto—tedious and brief.

BRIAN REED:

Before we had clocks, we had sundials, and I never thought about this until I started talking to John, but watching a sundial, which could be as simple as a stick in the ground, as the shadow crept along, you were actually witnessing the rotation of the Earth. It's so much less abstracted than a clock, a level closer to time itself. Anyway, John told me sundials often have mottoes engraved on them. John says "tedious and brief" is one.

BRIAN REED:

What do you mean, "tedious and brief?"

JOHN B. McLEMORE:

Your life is tedious and brief. All sundial mottoes are sad like that.

BRIAN REED:

There are hundreds of these mottoes. "Life passes like this shadow." "Make haste, but slowly." "Use the hours, don't count them." "Even as you watch, I'm fleeing." "Soon comes night."

These little reminders are out there, hidden in crannies around the world. I recently happened upon a sundial in the cemetery of an old Catholic mission next to a grave. Because of John, I knew to look for the motto. It read, "Nil boni hodie. Diem perdidi." "I did nothing good today. I have lost a day." 

As I see my summer break slipping away I remind myself to use my hours and not count them. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.