Adrian Thomson, who lives in Par, has crafted 25 mini sculptures made from gold in a process that can take months to complete.
Now, after years in storage, they are being installed as a featured exhibit at Bodmin’s Discovering42 science museum.
The award-winning interactive museum will host Adrian’s works – which are so tiny that they need special microscope displays to see them properly.
These include intricate car badges which fit inside the eye of a needle and a helicopter which can perch on an eyelash.
His moving sculptures – such as a tiny waving Chinese ‘lucky cat’ – are believed to be the only ones of their kind in the world.
Adrian, 59, cut his teeth sculpting soapstone on Bodmin Moor before scaling down.
It was only when he quite literally broke his teeth – with a gold filling falling out into his hand – that the idea came to him.
He said: “I didn’t want to let go of the filling, so over a period of nine months, I sculpted it into a primitive angel.
“I thought, ‘that is quite something’!”
In fact, his remarkably steady hand and coordination allowed him to use microscopes and custom watchmakers’ tools to create sculptures that require a microscope to see.
By 2009, he had cracked his first moving sculpture: a JCB digger with a moving scoop – parked inside the eye of a needle.
This required the use of a lens that magnifies his sculpture by up to a thousand times, and a lot of patience.
Being a trailblazer in his medium, he also has to deal with trial and error whilst testing the limits of tiny flecks of gold.
His needle-tip witch took three attempts over the course of five months to complete.
“I live for that fact that it isn’t easy,” laughed Adrian, who enjoys the challenge.
“If someone wants to replicate what I do, they have to be dedicated, respectful and patient.”
He admitted that his art – despite being made from pure gold – is not done for money.
He sold a piece to a friend for “a lot of money” in 2010, but said profit has “never really been the goal”.
After his house sadly burned down in 2023, he was left with just his dressing gown and the sculptures, which survived the ordeal.
Now, he has decided it is time for them to be admired by the public in an exciting educational setting.
Adrian confirmed that he is working with centre staff to prepare custom-made viewing displays, and hopes to have the exhibition ready in time for the Christmas holidays.
“The problem I’ve had is that nobody believes it was me who made them,” he added.
“They are the smallest moving micro-sculptures on the planet, and they’re here in Cornwall.”