2009′s “Robot #29″ is ready to plug in and make some noise.

“Picnic jugs were never meant to be attached to vacuum cleaners in a sturdy, yet visually appealing way,” Toby Atticus Fraley admits. But his robots (simply named and numbered in order of appearance) certainly have a life of their own, and are found in complicated—and often entertaining— poses. One swims with fish while capturing it on 8mm film, another stands firm with a space gun, and a third hikes with a pool cue and backpack.

Found-object robots are just the tip of the iceberg for Fraley. His primary love is oil painting, but he’s also a self-taught woodworker, photographer, slipcast ceramist, digital videographer and, soon, a full-on mad scientist—once he incorporates circuits for real-life robotics.

“Part of the reason I stay active in so many mediums is because there isn’t a single one that is one hundred percent satisfying,” Fraley explains. “It keeps me fresh.”

Fraley’s other successful line is just as eye-popping. Slip-cast ceramic birds play out captivating scenes: in “Live Free,” birds in business suits confront a red bird in a dunce hat; in “The Funeral,” a white angel squares off with a red devil overlooking a blue bird in a coffin. “I want to make people pause,” Fraley says. “For the most part, people seem generally amused.”

Fraley spent a few years at a state college in his native Pennsylvania before “the money ran out” and he continued to do what he does best—acquire new tools and teach himself how to use them. It’s an inherited characteristic; he grew up in his dad’s workshop creating a variety of projects, and has always had an inclination to draw.

“Stuff just pops into my head,” Fraley says. “It seems natural. I’m going to go home and work on a robot that’s flying a kite. That’s just the way I work.”