Deep within the City of Lost Things, there’s a crumbling clock tower that tells time in reverse. It’s extremely useful for finding lost things, because one can just retrace one’s steps back to where the item was lost. The tower isn’t easy to find, though.
This watch belonged to my grandfather. It doesn’t tell normal time, but is actually a window looking at the reverse clock tower. Pretty handy (get it?).
The clock hands are backward. Like most of the stuff I’ve made, this is really tricky to photograph.
I started with the clock face, which is 11/64 of an inch. That’s about as small as I could get it and still managed to write the roman numerals somewhat legibly. I then drew everything else around that.
This is truly one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time!
When can I borrow this so that I can find some stuff? I really need it. soon. And I LOVE it too, you know. Goodjob.com!
That’s freakin’ great. Are you going to wear it to work?
Thank you Laurel & dawn.
Neil, yes. People will say “This day is taking FOREVER.”
That is so awesome! Talk about economy of line! I could learn a thing or two from your work. Can’t wait to see more dioramas
Hi Jim! I´m sorry it´s been so long.
What a peculiar, little thing you´ve been busy with! It looks great! I mean, it´s both a great idea, and executed perfectly. I couldn´t make art this small if I wanted to, my eyes simply aren´t good enough.
Hope you are fine, and will have an enjoyable week!
Very cool!
This is the coolest piece of art ever! I love that is has a clock tower too – very cool. I can’t wait until someone asks you what time it is while wearing this!!
This is amazing! Proof of what you can achieve if you have eagle eyes, a steady hand, artistic skill and a boundless imagination.
Hey Jim! Where’d you find a dime that big? It makes that clock tower look small. I wonder how small I’d look standing next to it. But seriously, that’s pretty awesome man. You let me wear the watch, I might let you wear the robe. No promises though.
@janne – nice to hear from you! Theatre design would be awesomely fun to do, I think.
@helen – I had a little help with my eye. ;)
@jody, @dave, @nightengail – thank you! This is a lot of fun…
@HotRod – HAHAHA! You should let me wear the robe anyway.
Double plus awesome! I have a few empty watch housings and I’m always a little stumped as to what belongs in them. You have figured it out, my friend!
11/64th of an inch?! Awesome. I also love that fact that it’s your grandfather’s watch. What a way to honor your family.
Very cool idea. i love your work.
I haven’t been to your blog in months Jim, but I’m seriously happy that you gave me a gentle nudge to stop by. Your creativity is seriously inspiring buddy. I’ve always been a fan of your development skills but your art is… well it’s truly art.
Thanks for producing stuff that makes me want to stick around!
I don’t need a watch but I’d wear this one.
These are so cute! I love how tiny they are. I love them…. Keep doing them.
WOW! You work is amazing. I like how you come up with these creative ideas. Its hard to believe that this drawing is as big as a dime! How could you inquire to draw so small? Great work!!!
the watch was such a good idea! It is amazing how you can make that small of artwork. how long did it take for you to make it?
This is a really cool watch! I would definitely wear it! The clock tower and buildings are so small! I looked at a dime and was thinking about it. How did you do it! I couldn’t do that! I like how you did the clock telling time backwards. How did you get the little picture into the watch? It’s amazing!
Everyone, thank you!
@Chronographia: :)
@zena, @emily, @sadie: The numbers on the clock were really tricky because I had a hard time keeping my hands steady. I used a magnifier and a light which helps me see. This took a Sunday afternoon. I took the watch apart, painted the inside black and used tweezers to glue the drawings in place. They are separated by multiple layers of Bristol board.
I love how small it is! Comparing it to the dime was pretty cool to see the size.
I Think it is really amazing! I can’t believe that it is 11/64 of an inch! I think it would be really hard to do!
This watch is really amazing. I like how you used the depth perception of a quarter to figure out the distance between the different figures. You should try selling them online for money or at a crafts show. I think the crafts show could influence a lot of other people and maybe you could get new ideas for others, too. I don’t know if I could draw as small as the window of the watch requires, but I would love to try. I have lots of broken watches at home that I could start working on.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Jackie M.
7th Grade GFS
@jackie m: DO IT!
That is so cool and amazing how small a piece of art could be. It looks like it would be impossible and so hard to cut and draw. You must be very talented to make such little pieces of art. All of the artwork is just so COOL!!
Every day I look at my watch wishing it could be as epic as yours! This small masterpiece, if I may call it, looks like it takes A LOT of skill and A LOT of patience. Really really amazing, wish I could do that or at least own it!
The watch is so cool! What inspired you to create this piece?
@Isabella, @brianna: Thank you! It’s so nice to get comments like this. Really.
@cammie – I don’t know, honestly. I was looking for something and saw the watch and thought “this is the next diorama.”
thats pretty cool
This is great. I love it.
This is absolutely amazing. I just found the site and love everything about your style and the stuff you make, but the whole art in an empty watch case thing is just wonderful. Would you mind if I tried some watch art of my own? I’ve always excelled at drawing and writing things in incredibly small spaces, but thus far it’s been a pretty useless skill (because who wants to buy a painting the size of a Post-It). If I were creative enough to have thought of using an empty watch case as a canvas then I could have been nurturing my natural love of making everything really really tiny. I guess as a fellow artist I’m always a bit leery of ripping off ideas though, and I’d be way more comfortable referring to it as “Inspired by” instead of “Ripped-off From” if I knew you didn’t mind.
Hi Miki!
Yes, of course you should try it. I hope you’ll show them to me. :)