2 the Shed is my space for sketching, designing and making in the deep Kent countryside. Built in 2019 by Boxclad; it’s curiously triangular in shape with a wonderfully textural plywood interior. The perfect blend of beautiful design and spartaness (thanks Mark & Sean).
I’m an artist/designer/maker working on amazing projects for over 30 years doing a mix of illustration, design, visualising and model-making. Now I’m bringing my many sketchbooks ideas to life. I’ve passions for Automata, architecture, Scandinavian aesthetic and British seaside structures.
Automata-wise I’ll be sharing work in progress here on ‘Eddy & the Kraken’, ‘Windy & the Miller’, ‘That’s the way to do it!’ and ‘Watch Ya Chips!’ and other wilder creations as they progress.
Enjoy! Simon
Eddy & the Kraken – Automaton
October update: Delighted to say that after a final big push – the prototype of ‘Eddy & the Kraken’ automaton lighthouse is ready. I demonstrated it at 07th -08th at Art in the Garden and had fun sharing my sketchbook of workings (see below images).
Eddy & the Kraken is 80cm tall and is a replica shape of the Eddystone lighthouses that I’ve loved since I was a wee nipper. Made from a plywood skeleton, clad with hand shaped aluminium panels. Internally; cogs and gears operate actions at the base, behind the windows and right up to the top lantern. I have a whole sketchbook stuffed with roughs of how this automaton is created. I failed forward many times but am chuffed with the result… it’s like a living storybook.
Switch on the light, turn the side handle and multiple layers of story unfold:
The Kraken’s tentacles wave frantically, colourful fish hide in fear and the fishing boat lollops over the waves. Within the lighthouse the Kraken’s teeth and eyeballs rotate seeking their prey… it’s a total Octo-takeover!
Lighthouse keeper Eddy (complete in his yellow oilies) looks on in awe whilst Marmalade the lighthouse cat eyes the tempting seagulls that swirl and cry around her head. Meanwhile the lighthouse beam scans the stormy night uninterrupted by the mayhem below.
Eddy to about 6 weeks to build after many months of trial and error. Available for commission in bare aluminium or red and white stripes. The revolving lantern can be battery, USB or mains powered. Use the contact form at the base of the site if you are interested in commissioning one 🙂
The Tale of Eddy & the Kraken short story follows these work in progress images…
The Tale of Eddy & the Kraken – by Simon Byerley
With a jolt, lighthouse keeper Eddy, was catapulted from warm cot to freezing porthole. It was a frighteningly stormy night and as his hands rested on the cold iron rail, he gazed down in disbelief. Below him, the sea had come alive, boiling and churning with an unnatural force… a frothing pot about to explode!
Marmalade, his orange-striped cat, sat in the lantern room, watching the swirling, crying seagulls with keen interest. She flicked her tail, eyes narrowing as one swooped a little too close to the lighthouse tower.
The lantern beam above swept commandingly across the dark horizon, undisturbed by the chaos brewing below. But Eddy’s heart was racing. He had seen many storms in his years as a lighthouse keeper, but nothing like this.
From the depths, something enormous and terrible began to rise. A MASSIVE GREEN KRAKEN! its skin shimmering with seawater, emerging slowly from the waves. Its octo-eyes; enormous, dark, and full of ancient intelligence were locked on the lighthouse… and Eddy.
Its tentacles, thick as tree trunks, writhed and slithered over the rocks, pulling it closer to the base of the tower. Colourful fish darted between its limbs, flashing red, blue, and yellow; a carnival of sea life clinging to the monster’s enormous form.
Eddy gripped his ollies tighter. His breath catching his throat. This was no ordinary storm. This was something out of legend… an OCTO-CYCLONE! Something old tars with big beards whispered about in dimly lit taverns over pints of warm ale but never expected to face.
Marmalade, however, was unperturbed. She stretched lazily, oblivious to the Kraken’s slow advance. Her attention focussed on the gulls, swirling and crying above, unaware of the monster climbing ever closer to her perch.
“Eddy,” the lighthouse keeper muttered to himself, “you’re in a bit of a Branston* aren’t you?”
The tentacles were getting closer. One thick, emerald limb slithered up the stone wall of the lighthouse, finding every crevice of the old masonry. Another tentacle wrapped around the base, sending a tremor through the tower that made even the lantern sway. The creature was testing the lighthouse, probing its structure, curious and determined. Climbing, slowly but steadily, towards the light.
Eddy stumbled back, shouting to Marmalade. “Blimey!” he gasped, grabbing a nearby oil lamp. “What on the Davy Jones** do we do now?” The light flickered in his hand as the room around him seemed to tremble under the Kraken’s weight.
Suddenly, there was a loud CRACK. The Kraken’s tentacle smashed through one of the lower windows, the sound of shattering glass echoing up the spiral staircase.
Eddy could hear the creature’s low, guttural groan as it hauled more of its bulk inside. It was coming in.
“Not good, not good at all,” Eddy muttered. He turned in a panic, eyes darting around for a solution. What do you do when a sea monster breaks into your lighthouse?
Meanwhile, Marmalade seemed entirely unconcerned by the invasion. With a flick of her tail, she padded closer to the window, peering down with a curious tilt of her head. Eddy, following her gaze, saw a thick green tentacle creeping up the staircase, twisting and writhing, pulling the creature slowly but surely up towards the lantern room.
“Marmalade, get back!” Eddy shouted, but the cat simply flicked her ears in mild irritation. She wasn’t one to be told what to do, especially not when there were still gulls outside.
The Kraken’s tentacle reached the next window, bursting it open with a wet, echoing thud. Glass rained down onto the metal steps below, and the room seemed to shrink as the creature’s presence filled the air with the scent of brine and salt.
Eddy looked frantically at the light. The Kraken was drawn to it, as if the beam itself was calling it up from the deep. He had to protect the light. If the beacon went out, ships would be lost in the treacherous waters below. But how could he fight off a creature so massive?
Then, an idea flickered in his mind like the lantern’s flame. Eddy rushed over to the control panel, heart pounding in his chest. He knew the Kraken wanted the light, but what if he could make the creature think the light was somewhere else?
With shaking hands, Eddy turned the lighthouse’s signal to its brightest setting, and with a quick turn of the wheel, trained the beam out onto a distant rock, far, far away from the tower. The light shot out across the sea, a blazing trail of brilliance that sliced through the dark.
The Kraken paused. Its octo-eyes crossed, tentacles froze, its great body halting mid-climb. Slowly, as if confused, the creature turned its massive head to follow the light, its eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Eddy held his breath. “C’mon, you great CALAMARI, follow the light…”
The Kraken groaned again, its deep rumble shaking the very walls. And then, slowly, it began to descend. One tentacle after another slid down the lighthouse, its interest now focused on the distant glow. The creature slipped back into the sea, vanishing below the surface with a final, quivering splosh.
For a moment, Eddy stood frozen, staring at the empty window, unsure if it had really worked. The sea became calm, the storm had past and the only sound remaining was the familiar crying of gulls.
Marmalade jumped into Eddy’s arms and let out a soft, satisfied purrrr, one eye still on the seagulls outside. Eddy let out a long, shaky breath and ruffled her fur.
“Well, Marmalade,” he said with a chuckle, “looks like we’ve survived another night.”
The lighthouse beam resumed its costal command… as if nothing had happened at all.
*Branston Pickle = Lighthouse keeper slang for deep, deep trouble
**Davy Jones = Lighthouse keeper slang for very, very deep water