Steampunk Lighting Contraption

This has to be one of the coolest steampunk contraptions I’ve seen in a while. It comes courtesy of a gentleman named Art Donovan, obviously a man with a bent towards cool steampunk sculptures and lighting creations. I traced this pic back to this Tumblr blog.

What exactly would this be? It’s cool, whatever it might be. I would say that it’s part time machine, part oracle, part pressure regulator. Whatever it is, it looks pretty darn awesome. Steampunk art never ceases to intrigue me.

Cool Steampunk Getups

Steampunk fashion is many times an automatic ticket to looking pretty “bad-anus” (trying to keep the blog PG-rated). One of the things that impresses me about steampunk-inspired clothing and outfits is the sheer creativity and versatility that can come from the many steampunk artisans that are out there. Steampunk carries with it a certain degree of “DIY” by nature, mainly because there are no big-box stores retailing steampunk merchandise on the regular or anything like that. Here’s a good example of some cool steampunk fashion (complete with anachronistic ray guns), courtesy of Pinero Photography:

Like I said above, Wal-Mart and Target aren’t really selling steampunk merchandise, which makes steam-related clothing an inherently creative arena of fashion. Unfortunately, the cost of putting together a steam-inspired outfit can be excessive, but this is not to say that you’re doomed to shelling out mad shillings just to look legit. There are quite a few quality places on the Web that sell cheap steampunk clothing, plus the DIY steampunk crowd on Pinterest is pretty fierce if you’re looking for some creative ideas.

A Steampunk Image That's Just Plain Cool

Not really a whole lot of words to go along with this one...I found this pic on Pinterest. It's just cool, man, that's all. Courtesy of the website Steampunk Tendencies.

 

This is Just Flippin' Cool (Steampunk Sculpture?)

I don't quite know if this completely falls under the category of "steampunk", but I did find it via Pinterest under a steampunk-ish category. Check out this octopus playing chess:

 Steampunk sculpture, maybe? Whatever it is, it's just flat-out cool.

Interesting Vid - This Way to the Egress

After doing some research on the upcoming Steampunk Cruise--which in itself seems to be a cool concept and probably a rollicking time--I came across a video by one of the acts that are going to be performing on the ship. The name of the group is called This Way to the Egress--obviously a P.T. Barnum throwback situation. Check out this video...creepy and yet nostalgic at the same time.

Cool Steampunk Jewelry

I'm always amazed at the creativity that's in this Earth. This guy named Daniel Proulx over at steampunkjewelry.blogspot.com has created some ridiculously cool pieces of steampunk jewelry. One of my favorites is this steampunk spider:

Photo credit goes to Daniel's post here: http://danielproulx.blogspot.com/2010/03/steampunk-jewelry-designer-daniel.html

What a cool piece...extremely creative and creepy at the same time. Love it.

Steampunk--The Only Way to Fly?

One of the more inventive interpretations of steampunk fashion I've come across is this shot of a young lady with some "steampunk wings", if you will--check them out:

I nabbed this shot from someone's Pinterest collection, so to give credit to my source here's the link: http://pinterest.com/pin/82964818107245020/ 
 

Some Samplings of Steampunk Fashion

I found another cool video on YouTube that highlights some of the cool rayguns, goggles, corsets, and other steampunk-influenced fashion floating around at the World Steam Expo. Also features a song called "Airship Pirates" by Abney Park, for those steampunk audiophiles among us.

Please Don't Just Glue Some Gears On It...

I stumbled upon a YouTube video from a distinguished and moustached gentleman who goes by the name of Reginald Pikedevant. He basically gives an "audio treatise" regarding Steampunk, and the right and wrong uses of Steampunk elements. I have no idea if he speaks from a position of authority or not, but it seems as though he is passionate about it if nothing else. Catchy song, and I do like the look of the vid--lots of old anacrhonistic elements, including a rare appearance of a 33 rpm vinyl record!!!

Check it out here, and comment if you like:

So What is This All About?

Glad you could join me. I go by the totally made-up steampunk name of Gunner Hildebrand. I have been observing the steampunk phenomenon for quite a while now. I can't say that I'm fully a participant in this culture, but nonetheless it intrigues me for some reason. So, the idea hit me one day that since I'm already looking at steampunk stuff on the web on a fairly regular basis, why not create a simple blog that highlights some of the stuff I've seen and that I find interesting? Thus, Steampunk Observer has now been born.

Hope you enjoy your visit...welcome one, welcome all.