Sculpture, dad, bonsai fanatic and Steampunk. Paul is the creator of wonderful retro technology designs created from found objects. One of his more recent pieces is this great mono-wheel inspired by the movie Steam Boy.

Hi Paul, can you please introduce yourself?

My name is Paul Loughridge (pronounced Lock-ridge). I was "given" the name Lockwasher by a classmate in metal shop way back in high school. Since my name was so often mispronounced and lockwasher fit...Lockwasher Design seemed the appropriate name. I'm a designer, sculptor, assemblage artist, junk dude...crackpot. I'm a product of the late '50's and "happy to be - #1. totally taken (married) , B. a father to an incredibly talented "tweener" daughter and third. really enjoy creating new stuff out of other/old stuff" I am and have been a graphic designer, ice cream scooper, trade show manager, 2nd place winner in the 8th grade softball toss, event coordinator, teribull speller, store merchandiser, dishwasher, auto parts driver, prep cook, landscape designer, mattress builder, donut shop helper, auto mechanic, country club snack bar nerd, bonsai fanatic, toy collector and frequent finder of found objects...not necessarily in that order.

Did you attend art school or are you self taught?

I was born into a large (6 kids) creative family. My mother was a very talent artist and my father was a brilliant engineer. I did attend art classes in college, got board quickly, when and got a job as a graphic designer. I think to answer your question - I was born with it!?...is that the same as self taught...you decide!

How long have you been creating sculpture?

I have been tinkering with my robotic creations for approximately 1 year.

Your work has a very retro technology feel, what are your influences?

For me it was definitely TV, I grew up with Captain Satellite, Flash Gordon, Buck Rodgers, Forbidden Planet, Lost in Space, Batman, Star Trek, Man from U.N.C.L.E., GetSmart, The Jetsons, The Avengers, Mars Attacks Mars...just to name a few. I still love all the old stuff and have a really large collection of vintage/retro robots, ray guns and rocket ships. Now those toys are cool!

How long does it take do create one of your pieces?

I can create a small piece in a single day, and some of my larger pieces take a week or more of tweaking to get it right.

Do you have a favourite piece?

That would have to be the first piece I had ever created, Ray Gun 1.

I had taken apart an old hand drill that belonged to my Dad. I searched for the weapon's barrel and found it in the form of a flower vase. It was a perfect fit...it didn't matter that it was one of my wife's favourite vases... as I said...it was a perfect fit! It went undetected for about a week. When she eventually discovered I had drilled it out and used in on, of all things, a ray gun, well let just say that I can no longer use anything found "inside of our home" for my Lockwasher stuff.

How do you design your pieces, are they random dependent on what you pick up or do you have something in mind before you start?

I have, over the last year, amassed quite a large collection of junk and object from which to choose. For example, when assembling a robot, I will usually select an interesting "body" to start with then trial fit a head, arms and legs that look to scale and feel right to my eye. I don't do a sketch or have too much of a preconceived idea before entering my "laboratory".

Where do you source your materials from?

I find my parts and bits at the local Flea Market, garage sales. Since I have been doing this for awhile now, I even have family and friends on the look out for scrap and discarded materials for me.

What do have planned for your next project?

I have just completed my largest piece to date - Urnie, a 5' tall robot assembled from a vintage coffee urn (thus the name Urnie), a pair of air ram, omelette pan and parts off of a golf pull cart. He seems lonely, so my next project is to build him a companion...I have an old radio console...may I'll use that for her body and call her...Melody! Urnie and Melody...they'd make sweet music together...ouch! Hey, it's all for fun.

To check out more work from Paul go visit Lock Washer Designor check out his slideshow.