David Cranmer is a sculptor but it might be more accurate to think of him as a mechanical engineer of some sort. Most of his whimsical creations are actually contraptions of some sort, and many have a musical element.

In 2013 he was commissioned to do an owl theremin, so that is what he did. It is pretty much just a regular theremin with an owl statue on top. I was hoping that somehow the owl would be tethered to the theremin and the movements of the owl would create sounds. But when you stop to think about it, that’s a pretty stupid idea, owls hardly move around anyway.

In addition to this Cranmer has also created the “Badgermin” (a taxidemied badger with a theremin inside), a programmable musical pig, and a pointless but amusing mechanical duck sculpture. He also designed the enormous locomotive stage element for AC/DC‘s Black Ice World Tour a few years ago.

I love the detail of the scrupulous and deadpan knob label “ACTIVATE OWL” on the control panel.

If you’d like your own custom-made animal-theremin, Cranmer is available for commissions. You can contact him via his website.  
 

 

 

More after the jump…