(animated miniature theatrical dioramas)

Take a look at some of the over 5000 different stories I've produced 

$600

$1200 to $1500

$1200

$400

$7000

Reach me at woodyartist@gmail.com


    Mechanical Amusements are custom made, one of a kind, animated, miniature "theatrical" dioramas, featuring your story. Your memories and photos help determine the details that will decide the design.

   How much do they cost? You decide how much you want to spend. The complexity and number of details determine the cost. Simpler scenes (2 to 5 characters)  start at $400 to $950. More complicated scenes may be $1000 or more. Many customers have found the $600 and $1200 range best tell their stories. Some price examples (approximate) are shown throughout these pages. 

   Larger more complex scenes demand more detail and time to build. The most popular sizes run $3500 to $6000. Satisfaction guaranteed. I've only had one item returned in 30 years. And I solved the problem in 2 days.             

  . 

  

( just a few from the many I've done )

GALLAGER with his SLEDGE-O-MATIC.

CELEBRITIES

This scene was commissioned by the photo  editor of the SMITHSONIAN  magazine. It appeared in the December 1999 issue. The astronaut and robot on the tower move side to side as the radio waves rotate in the background. The space ships also rotate.

INTERGALACTIC SPACE COMMAND HEADQUARTERS

RAKING LEAVES ( at grandma's)

LADYHAWKE.

WILLIAM TELL

​    These are just some of the over 5000 stories I've told over the last 30 years of making Mechanical Amusements. They are a mixture of images, both old and new, which display the variety of stories which can  be told with the wooden sculptures I make.

I look for the humor in one's story. The sort of thing that brings out the joy in your story. If you have an interesting story I can give your version ( I will tell the story your way, never mind what others say). If you don't have a really good story on hand I'll help you find your story or be happy to make one up for you. "Enhancing" the story is my favorite part.  Let's talk.

NEW YORK DINING

"THERE BE DRAGONS"

THE BIG HEAD

YOUR STORY TOLD BY AUTOMATA

  Folk artist Woody Jones of Decatur, Georgia is a storyteller who uses mechanical wooden sculptures to depict real stories from everyday life.   His one of a kind animated carved wood dioramas resemble small "theatrical stages."   Working from your photos and descriptions he creates scenes that reflect the people, places and important milestones in your life.


He looks for the unique characteristics in each person's story.   He says, "You've worked hard, earned awards, degrees, plaques, and trophies.   You've built that business or achieved that lifelong goal. You deserved a trophy for all that hard work.    But did you get the trophy you really deserved?  You know the one for listening patiently to your spouse.  The one for sitting hour upon hour in the cold wet duck blind waiting for something to shoot.   Or finally cleaning out the garage  so your wife will let you have that antique car you always wanted.    Remember that business you once had, the one you worked on so hard for so long. Thinking about it all day and dreaming it all night.   What about that cause you felt so ardently about.   And that Thanksgiving dinner you worked at so hard on to prepare only to watch the argument over who gets to carve the bird.   And everyone remembers the time mom fell overboard while sailing.   These are the family and personal stories that make a family history.   The ones you share and laugh about. The real stories and treasured legends.   These are the stories I feature in my Mechanical Amusements."


Woody comments that his scenes become family heirlooms.   He tells the story of how he discovered how rewarding they can be.   He had made a scene for his dad before he passed away.

"At a family reunion all the little kids knew my Dad's story.  They couldn't care less about family photos and videos of "Old People" (anyone over twelve years old).   But every one of them had played with that scene and would explain Dad's story to the younger ones.  That Mechanical Amusement carries his history forward twenty- five years later."  

    

WOODY  JONES

MECHANICAL AMUSEMENTS