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!
Cerberus 3D 400 3D printer opens a world of filament
When my first 3D printer, a 3D Systems CubeX, apparently died (more on that in a moment), I lost the ability to work in anything but PLA filament. That mattered to me, because I have one design in particular that seems to prefer ABS. I had tried repeatedly to fix the CubeX, ordering and […]
Fascinating finishes – 3D printed surface a blank slate
I love the strong colors 3D-printed filament creates. I really geek out on the translucents, of course – check out my 3D-printed sculptures to see how many times I’ve used translucent yellow, red, blue and purple filament because I love how they interact with light. Yet I’m not afraid to cover the surface of a […]
Metal filler works wonders with ABS filament
Since I moved my 3D Systems CubeX 3D printer down to the studio, I’ve been able to play with it while I’m in the office cooling down – Arizona summers are really brutal when you work with fire and wear heavy protective gear. The CubeX gives me another way to play that keeps me under […]
A tale of two 3D-printed sculptures
I’ve written before about how I never create exact multiples of designs, 3D printed or otherwise. It’s possible, it’s just my philosophy to always create unique artworks. That being said, I do enjoy creating variations of sculptures – something I also do with my metal works – which is how series develop. (If you go […]
The greatest weapon in the 3D-printed gun debate is FEAR
Any time I show my 3D-printed sculptures or jewelry or have a 3D printer running at an event, I inevitably get asked about 3D-printed guns. It’s exasperating, because the fear of these guns – which is currently unfounded – taints 3D printing. This topic has come up before, but it’s back in the news as […]
A rainbow of colors comes to 3D printing filament
I originally began working in wood (OK, in cars, if you want to go back further). I didn’t do anything professionally with it, but I built some furniture. Then I turned to metal, which has been the bulk of my practice since I began selling my artwork in the early 2000s. About 4 or so […]
Combining 3D printing filaments
The more I work with 3D printing (and, well, anything I do), the more questions bubble to the surface …. Can I make the material do this? What if I do that? Do I really need to …. A lot of times, things work out. For instance, I did a couple of […]
3D-printed sculpture storms Tucson
OK, maybe I went a little overboard in the headline, but I’m still really jazzed at the reception of my 3D-printed sculpture at the recent Sculpture Tucson show in, yes, Tucson, Arizona (is there another Tucson? Hmmm, I’ll have to look that up ….) The turnout at the show was incredible. Preliminary estimates say that […]
Getting it together: connecting 3D prints
Even though I have an 8-foot-tall 3D printer that will print up to 4 feet tall, there are times I’d like to make something bigger. I have done that, as evidenced in the 5-1/2 foot tall sculpture Epic Swoon (below), which was commissioned by PriceCooperswaterhouse in Columbus, Ohio. That sculpture, the tallest 3D-printed piece I’ve […]
Alien forces invade 3D print
Crazy things happen with 3D printing, especially with my 8-foot-tall Cerberus 3D Gigante 3D printer. As Steve Graber, who built this monster, has said, whatever this printer does, it does spectacularly. That definitely includes surprises like the “slubs” on my sculpture Love and Marriage, which are explainable, and recent moments like the time the print […]