Lowering the 8-foot-tall Gigante 3D printer
As an artist who works three dimensions and often designs in CAD (Computer Aided Design), I was immediately fascinated by the opportunities afforded by 3D printing.
This new technology offers much promise for creating not only original art, such as my 5-1/2-foot-tall sculpture Epic Swoon, but also maquettes, or small models, to show patrons for commissions.
This article will tell you more about how I got involved in 3D printing and how it influences my artistic practice.
To read about my adventures with 3D printing, choose your post below and click, or just search.
Enjoy!
Switching on the art lights
If you're a longtime reader of this blog or even a longtime fan of my work, you may remember the lighted sculpture show "Illuminate" that was held 3 years ago. If you're really lucky, you got to attend what was one of the best shows I've done in the 20 years I've been...
How to achieve precision with 3D printing
As a self-taught artist, I’ve learned everything I do by trial-and-error and online research. For instance, I taught myself how to run my coal forge by downloading a book from the 1800s. That learning includes everything I know about CAD and 3D printing that I didn’t...
So much for cookie cutter claims about creating art
So much for the belief that sculptors will pump out thousands of the same piece creating soulless cookie-cutter multiples. Ironically, that charge was blown apart when my 46" tall 3D-printed and hand-painted sculpture Seymora seussicus (right) got destroyed during...
Fad or trend? 3D printing settles in
I'm old enough to remember a lot of fads, including hula hoops, Furbys, hoverboards and Tickle Me Elmo. 3D printing came on like a firestorm, too. Suddenly everyone wanted to create things from scratch using these amazing devices. The promise was strong, but then the...
Things Change Dept. – bigger, different, exciting
After using 3D printing for a decade, I'm embarking on a new initiative. And this is the first place I am talking about it publicly. At least this approach is new for me. Other artists have been using 3D printing to create maquettes for sculptures that will be...
Making walls three-dimensional
Fellow artist Daniel Prendergast threw down the gauntlet: how about using 3D printing to create three-dimensional wall art? I'd already made some metal sculptural wall artworks such as Bob, Labyrinth and Shade and Shadow, but Dan's idea was intriguing. 3D printing is...
3D printing goes outside to play
Finally, 3D printing can go outside to play. Of course, it's been possible to 3D print outdoor sculpture for a while, but we're talking high-end, hundreds of thousands of dollars possible. For mere mortals like me, though, being able to 3D print sculptures that can go...
3D printing more than sculpture
The more I use 3D printing, the more I use it for. Not everything is art. I've written before here about some of the crazy things I've made, like container tops, game boards, brass dice, candleholder trays, kitchen container tops, a new fan part for my 8-foot-tall...
Translucent filaments offer possibilities when lighting sculpture
Adzuki (right) and its functional "cousin," the side table Red Moon Slice, both created in 2016, were the first internally lit 3D-printed sculptures I created. I've lighted many of my translucent sculptures since then, using various approaches (see Wormwood Dark, Ice...
How 3D printing supercharges creativity
In a recent video (below) I share how I often come up with new creations. 3D printing is a secret weapon (OK, not that secret) in making innovation easier …