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Lisa Slater

Automata

2024      My self portrait automata was on exhibition  at 

The Bowes Museum for The Magic of The Silver Swan exhibition. It was great exhibition and I was delighted  to  be was part of it. I have a little film of me excitedly going into the museum to see it  click here. 

In 2017 the automata was commissioned by Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. I set to work recreating a miniature version of me working on one or my signature styles of automata a wooden mule. I made my clothes from my old work shop clothes a recreated a scaled down work bench and a tiny automata of a mechanical mule

2023 In January Michael and Maria  Start from House of Automata visited my studio. 

I am a huge admirer off their work and love watching their restorations on TV.  

In the spring I had stall and sold automata at Hand & Treasure in Hebden Bridge.

Thanks to James  I now also have a super testimonial about his experience of buying my work which I have added to my Lisa page. This will give new customers an insight into the range of my creative approaches. 

2022 Four commissions including  Elliot with Herzog for his birthday. Herzog popped in to check on progress so I had to hide the other automata  on the bench as Michele was also getting an automata for her birthday with her cats.

A collection of work was made Hawksbys At 10 Anniversary Exhibition including owls in boxes . Branwell automata designed to complete Brontë set.   

I finished the year with Flumpy cat, a super cat commission. 

Being a guest maker on the  Cabaret Mechanical Theatres Global Tinkering Workshops was good fun . These are super online automata workshops. 

Here I am explaining how Charlotte Brontë works. 

Branwell Brontë
Cat automata

2021  got off to a good start . Promoting my work on Instagram and selling online. I decided to leave teaching at Christmas and quickly saw the benefits with more time for developing my own work and accepting commissions. Pieces include articulated figures in old sewing machine drawers and Barn owls in oak barns. 

Designing and making the Brontë family and being interviewed for the Yorkshire Post

crafts council directory

Copyright Lisa Slater 2025