Wade Watson's Miniature Orreries: Creation

One thing that surprised me when I first started as a seller on eBay some years back is the great interest in dollhouse collectibles there. I've always had a great interest in models and miniatures myself and decided to consider a contribution I could make to this community that would be fairly unique. I've had a fascination with intricate mechanical devices long before the term "steampunk" came along. Marrying that with my interest in astro-science and the idea of making a miniature orrery seemed perfect.

An orrery is the name for any type of working model of astronomical bodies, usually the Sun and the planets. While some believe such devices may have been constructed in ancient times, the device with now consider the orrery seems to have emerged in the early 18th century.

I've been a polymer clay sculptor for some years, so that seemed the perfect material for the planets. I can easily size them perfectly and for most of them, the realistic planet color is created by carefully mixing colored clays. Some planets, such as Jupiter and Earth required hand painting in artist's acrylics to capture a cloud-cover effect.

From the beginning I used fine brass rod for the arm supports that hold the planets. Inspired by actual nineteenth-century orreries, I usually have the support rods at right angles, though I have done curved versions.

I've most always incorporated wood into the designs to some extent. In my most recent works wood is usually only used for the lower base. For my round bases I normally custom lathe turn the base to suit the particular design. The wood always receives several coats of rubbed on polyurethane varnish.

Several of my earliest orrery works were  sculpted almost entirely from polymer clay over a wire armature. These were usually done in black clay baked with gold powder rubbed on for an aged look. I've experimented with a number of interesting orrery profiles and even tried transferring printed guides and such.

For my seventh orrery I incorporated an interesting vintage brass post I found in a box of odds and ends. That piece drew more interest than any previous design, so I decided to look for more such brass objects to incorporate. This has been my approach for most of them since. When designing a base I start with the brass piece, which always must be drilled though the center, then, usually, cut, filed, and shined to some extent. Next I conceive and turn a base to suit it. Now and then I will incorporate a turned wood piece above the brass as well.

Since most of my orreries use planets of the same size I save some time by making many planets of each type at the same time. Each planet must be carefully sculpted to the right size and shape. After they are hardened, I must hand drill them using a tiny precision drill. Needless to say, there are many rejects before I have a set of planets I like.

The most difficult planet to make is Saturn, because of it's ring area. I've used a couple of different schemes for this, but I currently am using a tiny spin-polished brass washer for the ring. The spherical planet halves must be bisected and then thinned perfectly to marry their rings. I normally spend hours working on these to end up with 8-10 that I can use.

For my earliest orreries I made the sun from polymer clay just as I did the planets. It was sculpted from gold clay, then coated with gold powder and drilled after hardening. For my latest orreries I decided to make the sun from actual gold plated metal. The sun is now actually an 8mm gold plated ball earring. I think this gives the orrery a very realistic vintage look and elevates the quality of the overall piece.

I produced a total of 40 miniature orreries from 2011 through 2013, then stopped to concentrate on other things. I am currently planning a new series of 10 works and have not decided whether to do any more after that. I do no work by commission and pretty much do these for pleasure, as well as to share with others. My orreries are in collections around the United States as well as Canada, Australia and various countries in Europe.

For this next limited series I am not only making design improvements, but experimenting with new ways to reach the those who want them. My current plan is to offer them only from an Etsy store I have yet to open. I will announce the store opening here at this website. If you enter your email address into the space in the column at left you will be notified of this and any other new post on this blog.  You can also contact me directly through the contact form link at left.