It's not every artist that would be inspired to suddenly start making clocks, let alone study the intricate mechanisms independantly without formal training, yet that is exactly what Eric Freitas has done, and with a successful career to show for his efforts.

In Part 2 of our interview, he talks to The Jewelry Report about how he came to discover this art form and how he learned his skill.

How did you first get into clockmaking?

In a way, it doesn't make any sense. I was an illustrator, and prior to 2004, I'd never machined a single scrap of metal. I had this idea though, and my obsessive nature wouldn't let me look away. My father must have known the path I was headed down, because around the time I bought my first house, he found a used mill and lathe for me as a Christmas present. He's a retired Ford engineer, and really helped me with the initial tooling and set-up needed to cut gears. After cutting the first few gear teeth, I was hooked. At that point, this very far fetched idea seemed attainable.

Do you find the process of experimentation frustrating or inspiring?

Experimentation with clockmaking can be a heartbreaking thing for me. Some of my clock designs visually hinged on a mechanism that I've never seen, or made before. It's a leap of faith to attempt a four or five hundred hour project that might not mechanically work in the end. When things start going bad, I tend to throw stuff [laughs] it's probably not very healthy. But when something works really well, it fuels me like nothing else can.

If you could have any jewelry super-power to help you with your jewelry what would it be? (Perhaps flame throwing hands to fire your pieces quickly?  Mind reading for your customers? Extra arms?  :) 

Some way to safely teleport my work from one location to another. I don't mind working hard to create these things, but shipping the mechanical ones for shows thoroughly scares me.

What is your favorite design, and is this your best seller?

My favorite completed piece is 'No.6', the latest in my collection of mechanical work. It's very well made, keeps great time, and has this handmade, ten foot, almost spinal chain hanging below it. It's going to be for sale for the first time on October 13th at a steampunk show taking place at the prestigious Museum of the History of Science, The University of Oxford, UK. The exhibition will stay up until February 21st of 2010.

If you can't make it to this exhibition in the UK, it is well worth following the blog online.  These artists are all innovative and highly skilled, and their work fuses Victorian fashions with modern technology in a way that is intruiging and inspiring.  Such fusions are sure to become more and more popular in the decades to come, as artists find it more and more difficult to produce highly unique works.

Eric can be found at http://ericfreitas.com/ and you can follow the Oxford steampunk exhibition at http://www.steampunkmuseumexhibition.blogspot.com/