Growing up in the 1980's probably really helped nurture my love of robots.  It was a great time for the science fiction genre, with over-the-top tales of science gone wrong or futuristic powers bestowed on common people.  I loved these stories as a kid and later came to see how they reflected our more human and social characteristics, even if they were told through robots and superhuman means.  This is how I like to look at the robots I make today - little vignettes of humanity constrained into a rusty robot form.  After all, they can't help but resemble their creators - sometimes both our assets and our flaws.
In my current series, I'm using altered forms from the potter's wheel as my main building material to construct sculptures that have a 1950's science fiction aesthetic.  The rounded, even forms I can create on the wheel lend themselves easily to recreating this look, and the metal-rich clay and stains I use add rusty, worn character to each piece.  The result for me is a studio full of robots and ray-guns that I hope will resonate with my audience about fun and nostalgia, but also thinking of new ways to employ traditional mediums.