New 3D Printed Bracelet

Here's the first prototype of a bracelet design I've been working on.  It combines 3D printed pieces with soft glass tubing.  I think they work beautifully together; they have very similar textures.

The bracelet is removed simply by pulling the pegs out of the tube in any given junction of the two.  I thought it might be difficult to put on because of all of the connections, but it wasn't bad at all.  Good stuff.

New 3D Printed Colors

I've added two new colors to my 3D printed collection: Lemon Yellow and Purple.  Wonderful springy colors!  The yellow turned out really great.

Wax Models

Here are some recent wax models I made for my casting class.  They are organized into two four-piece series.  They go from skeleton to skin, the first series being inspired by seed pods and the second inspired by coral.
Series 1

Series 2

There is a model missing here.  I didn't get a chance to photograph it before I invested it.  Luckily it turned out!

More pictures to come of the cast pieces.

Fast Co Design Article

I love love love the article you can find at this link.

It discusses a new line of minimalist designs by Patrick Smith depicting mental illnesses.  It hearkens back to our fundamental design classes and the simplicity to the images is gorgeous.  You should definitely go check out the article to see all the designs but here is one of my favorites.

Brilliance.

Studio Therapy

I was feeling overwhelmed last night so I literally ran in to the studio for some therapy.  I went in with no plan and just made the first thing that came to mind.

Those are hollow formed silver bubbles and a bezel set little blue lace agate cabochon.  It's on a 14 gauge silver wire shank.  It fits me perfectly and is surprisingly comfortable.  The whole process went very smoothly and I made it, from start to finish, in 3 hours.  It was a great, calming experience.

The best things in the studio happen between the hours of midnight and 3am.  : )

Metals New York Trip 2011

Here are some of the pictures I took while on the NYC trip with the Metals department.  We first stopped at MOMA and then got dropped in soho for some free time.

Warhol exhibit

Iconic

 Lichtenstein has always been one of my favorites.  His work is way bigger than I imagined.  Wall sized.

Oh Rothko...I just don't like you.

Neat architecture.

The wondrous things that this little boy described seeing in that plain black canvas...I wish I still saw the world like that.

Van Gough has his own security guard.

An old friend.

Jess and the tiny painting!

View out a fourth floor window at MOMA.

Freida!

One of my favorite pieces of art.

Indiana Jones X 2      hahaha

On to soho!  This was the absurd line outside Dash.  I guess maybe the Kardashians were in there at the time?

Cart Indian food!  Yay for scary new experiences!  Observe the terror on Jess's face hehe.

Adorable mini cupcakes from a tiny tiny booth on the side of the street.  The most delicious, expensive cupcakes I've ever eaten.  Definitely going to stop there again on a return trip.

All in all a lovely trip.  A great time with wonderful exhibits and carefree exploring.

Towson Metals Club: Raising Demo

Here are some images from the Metals Club's March 3rd Raising Demo by Demo-Master Rachel Timmins.

Great turn out!  Most of the current members attended and we recruited two new members.

Working at the block.

Rachel teaching us proper technique to save your joints.

Look at that lovely edge!  Great, inspiring demo.

Hydraulic Press Casualties

Prototyping a hydraulic press piece results in sheets and sheets of wasted metal.

Graveyard of forgotten copper sheets from Tai's container project last semester.

Look at all of that sad, useless metal!  Goin' in the scrap bin to be melted down!

Glassblowing Fun

Recent glassblowing work: balls and cups.

My first cup!  The set up was great but it all went down hill in the last 5 minutes.  Spread the opening too wide and cracked the bottom when I was knocking it off the punty.

My tomato shaped ball from the week previous.

Celebrating Jess's 21st in the bar next door after our cup making adventure.  Seabreeze and an Oreo Cookie.

ACC show 2011

This weekend I worked the ACC show at the Baltimore Convention Center with a NYC jeweler named Rina Young.  She works in sterling silver wire and hand shapes organic forms as necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.  Here's an example of one of her pieces.

I had some time to walk around and meet the artists on Friday evening.  Here's some of the people I got to chat with:
Mathew Kargol: Blast Art
He makes this awesome steel furniture that looks like it is made of paper.  Here is his website.  Really nice guy too.
Jennifer Chin: Lush Metals
I met her when I went to this same show two years ago and she was lovely to chat with.  Some of the artists feel uneasy around students because they feel we might rip off their designs but Jennifer was not like that at all.  Her work has excellent, delicate soldering.  She has a new book coming out in July that I fully intend to buy.  Here's a link to that amazon listing.   Here is her website.
Emily Watson: Emily Watson Jewelry
She 's a really cool artist who's carved plastic rings are what caught my eye.  She draws inspiration from the body and has great, unique stuff.  Here is her website.
Sophie Hughes: Sophie Hughes Jewelry
Really lovely to talk to and makes wonderful organic forms in metal.  Here is her website.
David D'Imperio: David D'Imperio Lighting
This guy was super cool to talk to.  He makes eco-friendly lighting using laser cut elements.  His stuff is so slick and artistic.  We chatted about laser cutters and 3D printing and he might be into coming to Towson to give a lecture.  His work is very relevant to what is going on in the department here and his is a great guy.  Here is his site.  I will be contacting him later.

Glassblowing Open House

McFadden Art Glass had an open house last Friday and I took my parents.  It was a great time and my dad got to make an ornament!

 Here he is shaping his glass while I wait to blow in the pipe.

 Here he and Tim add the loop on the top.

My friend came as well and got to make a pendant!  The open house is such a great opportunity for anyone to come in and get a taste of glassblowing.

Here's Dad's finished ornament!  What a pro!

Dying Printed Forms

I had some RIT dye lying around from a previous project and thought I'd see how the Shapeways WSF material took the color.

 This is one of my spindle necklaces that I dyed using the teal dye.  I stuck the pendant in when the dye was hot and fresh and let it get to a nice deep shade.  I put the cording in shortly after to see if it would take color as well.  Magically, it did!  This is a wonderful way to match your printed piece to its cording!

This is a nice, classy color.

 This one is my favorite.  It's dyed using the tangerine color.  I put it in fresh and let it sit for a while to get a nice saturated orange.  It's a really fun piece.

I like how the cording doesn't dye as easily so it is always slightly lighter than the printed piece.  It makes a very nice, balanced piece.

 This one was dyed using the same teal dye but I let the dye cool slightly and only stuck it in for a short amount of time.  It made a really nice robin's egg blue.

The WSF material is so porous and durable that it makes dying an ease.  It looks lovely without any dye but is so versatile if you want color.  Coupled with the clear soft glass cording, these necklaces are a dream to dye.  Expect more experiments to come!  I need to order some more prints!