Considered the father of modern automata, Peter Markey (1930–2016) began crafting simple wooden automata after someone innocently suggested he try adding movement to his sculptures. His work is renowned for its straightforward design and the use of bright colors. Peter didn’t carve wood, meaning the squared shapes of the material naturally translated into squared-off people and animals. He was fascinated by the seemingly absurd idea of recreating the motion of waves using wood, leading him to create The Wave Machine, which employed a variety of simple yet effective mechanisms. Peter often said he built things because he simply couldn’t stop.