Blott Works
Balance Lamp
Dan Morrison is an artist-engineer creating handcrafted lamps, clocks and kinetic sculptures that sit at the intersection of engineering and art. Working from his workshop in the South Pennines, his practice explores balance, movement and interaction, using carefully engineered mechanisms to bring subtle motion into functional objects.
Dan’s background spans engineering design and the performing arts, alongside careers in software development and funeral directing. This unconventional path has shaped a practice that values precision, theatricality and emotional resonance in equal measure. Since establishing Blott Works in 2013, he has developed a distinctive body of work that blends mechanical clarity with playful, sculptural form.
His pieces are made using machined aluminium, brass, steel and hand-shaped hardwoods, assembled by hand in small batches. Counterweights, magnets, pivots and airflow are used not as hidden technologies, but as visible, expressive elements. Movement is central to the work, not simply as a functional feature, but as a way of encouraging curiosity and physical engagement. Many pieces respond directly to touch, while others create gentle, ambient motion that brings a sense of quiet life to a space.
Dan’s work has been exhibited widely at UK and international craft and design fairs and galleries, including Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, London Craft Week and Eunique Karlsruhe. He is particularly interested in how engineered objects can feel approachable and human, creating moments of surprise, delight and contemplation through motion.
Lancashire