Mechanism of Eli Terry Clock 1940

Here's a drawing of the inner workings of a clock, it was made by Herman O. Stroh. I love this; it’s like a portrait, a machine rendered with such care it becomes a character. I imagine Stroh, his brow furrowed in concentration, meticulously tracing each gear, each lever, trying to capture not just its form but its essence, too. Look at the wood grain. It has been rendered in such loving detail that you almost want to reach out and touch it. What was Stroh thinking? Perhaps he was thinking of Terry, of time itself, of the beautiful, inexorable dance of cause and effect. Every line feels deliberate, a testament to craftsmanship and precision. It reminds me of how we painters obsess over brushstrokes, trying to find the perfect mark to convey what we feel, what we see. We too, like clockmakers, are trying to capture something elusive, something precious, in our own way, one small gesture at a time.