My name is Gary Spetzler and I make little wooden automata and other kinetic sculptures in my tiny shop in Eugene Oregon. I started this artistic journey in June of 2023, mostly by accident. A bunch of different events all happened simultaneously to bring me to this craft. I still feel a bit weird calling myself an Artist, but I am dedicated to learning more and more about this craft. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will continue to create and build on my skills for the rest of my life.

It all started with a mouse… Well, kind of… There’s a lot more to the story of how this all came about. The longer version involves a journey of self-discovery brought about by hopelessness, desperation & burn out, but you are probably here just to find out who I am and how I ended up making automata, so I’ll start with the short version of how it started.

I made my very first wooden kinetic sculpture (not an automaton) about 10 years ago. It was a counter rotating clockwork type mechanism made from wood. It was inspired from an artist named David C. Roy. I gave the sculpture to my parents as a gift and only dreamed of making a living at working with kinetic sculpture.

Fast forward to May 2023. Supported by Becky (my best friend and spouse), I quit a full time job to try to make a business of my own. Originally I wanted to build overlanding trailers (another passion), but due to supply chain issues post pandemic (and a huge increase in the cost of shop space), I just couldn’t get the numbers to add up. I’d set up a basic woodworking shop and tried my hand at several fairly common woodworking products, but just didn’t feel like I could make it work long term. I am just not the type of person that can make the same thing day in and day out.

I was struggling to find something that satisfied my odd combination of engineering, woodworking and whimsy when I remembered the kinetic sculpture that I had created 10 years earlier. I was looking for some inspiration when I came across a YouTube video put out by a UK organization called Cabaret Mechanical Theatre that showed a bunch of wooden automata. I fell in love with the art form. It wasn’t until I came across a YouTube video titled “dancing mice with cheese wood automata tutorial” by an Italian Artist named Amedeo Capelli, that I felt like I could do it though. His design was so simple and unrefined that it made it approachable.

I made my very first automata the very next day. I set about trying to make a better version of the mouse than in the tutorial. I ended up with a little mouse dancing with a wedge of cheese over it’s head. I had so much fun making it that I decided then and there to make this my full time job.

Becky made me hang on to that little twirling mouse and it sits on my desk to remind me where this all began.