Michael, love your Ravenstones. One of my partner’s animal totems is
a Raven and yours truly neat. 
Michele
MikiCat Designs
Why is it called Steampunk?
It is a youthful style based on the Nineteenth century, industrial
revolution, steam engines and gears.
The work of this clockmaker caught my eye a while back.
I guess I like it because it doesn’t wear a big sign saying, “look at
me, I’m all about the steampunk art” yet it embodies the genre while
being much more than something designed to hook into the latest
trend. I like that the clocks are functional, too.
To paraphrase the clockmaker:
"I’m going to go somewhere now, somewhere I’ve thought about for a
very long time. For me this is an old intrinsic voice, looking back at
me and waiting for my ability to catch up. For you hopefully this is
something new to make your curiosity tingle . This place isn’t named
anything that ends in ‘punk’ or ‘ism’. In fact it’s not named
anything at all, because so far it’s mine, and I prefer not to give
names to things.
Little retro-gizmos and anachronisms can be very interesting.
There’s a curiosity that comes along with an object that looks
temporally confused or out of place. This experience is heightened if
the ‘place’ can’t be identified. To create that I have to go
somewhere. Somewhere that belongs to me, and not them.".
Jesse
why is it called steampunk. Is there a unitary thread to the design?
The replies to this so far have been very good. I think it is a
little difficult to define because it is still developing as a genre
and it has several different branches and subgenres.
The quick definition I usually give is the same one Sharon Smith
used - Victorian SciFi. It’s the future that never was; it’s
speculative fiction about what would have happened if computers had
never been invented, and all technology was clockwork and gas-powered
and steam- powered. So the style we are talking about is sometimes
also called “Clockpunk” or “Gaslamp Fantasy.”
But it goes deeper than this; there is an element of counter-culture
here, hence the “punk” part. There are elements of Victorian
fashion, but they are typically somehow altered or “punked-out” in
some way. It’s not just re-creation… it’s a re-imagining. Often
this involves the idea of the “mad scientist” or “gentleman
inventor.” There is also frequently a post-apocalyptic element to
some of these visions - ie what would happen if our electronics no
longer worked anymore, or electricity was no longer easily and
readily accessible.
So what started out as a literary genre has moved into fashion,
sculpture, and performance art. An example of this is found in a
band called Abney Park, who have tailored every aspect of their
performance around their “story” - they are a band of airship
pirates, flying around in a dirigible, time-traveling and having
adventures. Their instruments and stage costumes are all steampunk,
as are their songs. And their fans show up likewise in steampunk
dress. For the fans it is about playfulness and having fun with it;
but there are also some very beautiful things being created in the
same spirit.
Peggy Foy
peggyfoy.com
Steampunk comes from science fiction and anime–Japanese animation.
In an alternative world, people develop a technology with 20th
century capabilities based on 19th century steam power. Airplanes
fly by steam power. The era has a feel and style of the 19th Century,
but you still get to fly airplanes. You get 19th century ornate
style, hope, progress, and Jules Vern’s eccentricity and imagination.
The punk must come from the age of the audience.
Sally Parker
One science fiction/Japanese animated movie that related to
steampunk is Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle. The castle runs
on steam (and a bit of magic). Other works (film, literature etc.)
involving the theme
An artist/metalsmith that jumped to mind was Deb Todd Wheeler’s
‘Ludicrum: naturalia, artificialia, scientifica’ series.
http://babel.massart.edu/~debtoddwheeler/ludicrum.htm
Most of them, according to the description, are modernized on how
they operate but the style resembles that of science and fantasy.
Lauren Anabela Beaudoin
Thanks Jesse,
http://www.ericfreitas.com
This is great! I understand the need not to name it anything, but
having the ideal, the genre in your head is giving people a place to
head towards. This is fun watching the escapement process (pun here),
the drive to create, fuse, expand and take what you know and make it
something else.
It likes a cool device or thingy that has dropped out of some
dimensional shift.
The link is great. Thanks!
karen christians
Cleverwerx
There has been a bit of discussion about Steampunk. It seems they
had a big party in London recently. Here is a link to the article
Rick