Dali Inspired Clock

A clock inspired by Salvador Dali’s images of clocks, elephants and rocks, this hand built ceramic clock is warped but works.

While a friend was making a wooden clock, I thought about Salvador Dali’s famous images of melting clocks and wondered if it would be physically possible to make a clock that was warped like that but also worked and kept time. Making the face and supporting pillars was relatively straightforward, but I made the section for the clock mechanism too thick and this required a lot of time to carve away excess material and get the mechanism and hands to fit.

This work is entered in the Hakatere Ceramics and Pottery Club’s Clay Fever exhibition, on at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum from 30 Oct – 30 Nov 2025.