OUR STORY · MEET THE TINKERING CREW
A lifetime of curiosity,
made by hand.
The duo that’s keeping the creations going.
01 / BLAIR SOMERVILLE
Organic mechanic
and tinkerer.
Blair’s first automaton began with a curious little sound from a pūpū karikawa shell. A little wire, a twist of the pliers, and the gurgler was born.
A self-taught tinkerer, Blair has been rewarding curiosity in Papatowai since 1999. He fills his sheds with found, gifted and recycled objects, then turns them into artworks that invite you to engage and play.
His fascination with electronics began at school. Ideas arrive everywhere — even in dreams, with a pencil and notebook close at hand.
Away from the workbench, Blair enjoys surfing and volunteering with the local fire brigade. He lives with his wife Sandra and their parrot, Pepino.
BLAIR’S STORY ON FILM
A glimpse into Blair’s world.
This short film follows Blair Somerville and the curious world he has created through a lifetime of tinkering.
From a pencil mark to a moving thing.
02 / SANDRA VAN DER SOMMEN
An eye for birds.
A life in art.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Sandra met Blair while travelling through New Zealand in December 2018. In April 2019, she moved to Papatowai.
Today she works from her Jamin studio, creating portraits and paintings of animals. Her fascination with birds also shaped her art-history studies, which focused on bird books and drawings from the 16th to 19th centuries.
Sandra helps run the Temple of Tinkering and Gizmo Bus and monitors the local little blue penguin colony.
For portrait and animal-art commissions:
LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER
A glimpse of Sandra’s work.
Explore selected paintings and artwork by Sandra van der Sommen, including bird studies and animal portraits.
03 / ROOTED IN PAPATOWAI
Rewarding curiosity
since 1999.
Before settling in The Catlins, Blair travelled the South Island in a house truck, making ceramics and selling his creations at markets.
Papatowai offered space to experiment. A green Leyland house bus became a gallery, and mechanical artworks filled its shelves. Beyond the bus, three water tanks were transformed into a place for his larger inventions.
Opened in 2008, that evolving collection is now the Temple of Tinkering. The making, experimenting and wonderfully weird discoveries continue.
Explore the TempleA FEW CURIOUS QUESTIONS
From the workbench.
What is automata?
Automata are mechanical artworks that move. Cams, gears, cranks and electronics can create motions ranging from simple to wonderfully complex.
Does Blair sell his work?
Blair stopped selling his small mechanical creatures in 2013 to focus on larger automata and artworks for exhibitions.
Where do the ideas come from?
Ideas are everywhere: found objects, everyday life, dreams and the question of what might happen if something moved.
Why the name Temple of Tinkering?
Temple of Tinkering captures the spirit of making, experimenting and bringing things to life. The name has changed, but the artists, the spirit and the ever-evolving world of curious creations remain the same.
Why is the Temple for ages 13 and over?
The Temple contains delicate, handmade, one-of-a-kind artworks that aren’t childproof. Each piece takes a great deal of time, care and hard work to create. Children aged 12 and under are welcome in the Gizmo Bus with close supervision by a paying adult, but cannot enter the Temple.
YOUR CURIOSITY IS INVITED
Come in. Have a tinker.
See what happens.
Temple admission for ages 13 and over. Book online and save $1 per person.
Buy online & save $1 Plan your visit