Sending My Sculpture to the Printers

With a little help from the staff at SculptCAD, I shelled (hollowed out) my sculpture, sized it (10" X 12" X 8") and sent it of to be printed at a rapid prototype lab. The clear plastic sculpture should be printed and back at SculptCAD by Tuesday of next week. A pretty quick turn around on a sculpture that has taken me months to learn how to build.

I am expecting it will look a little bit different in the real world from the 3 D computer model. That is always the case when you convert one material into another: Wax to bronze, clay to ceramic, digital imaging into clear plastic.

After the Wednesday delivery, I think there will only be 3 other artist's sculptures left to print, making a total of 15. I can't wait to see them all together.

Posted on Brad Ford Smith Blogspot.

David Kirkpatrick is blogging about the SculptCAD Rapid Artists Project

The freelance writer and journalist David Kirkpatrick has been posting about the SculptCAD Rapid Artists project on his WordPress blog. His blog is very well developed with posts going back to Jan.2008. Topics include Arts, Business, Politics, and Technology. Some of the recent posting are on the topics of Invisibility Cloaks, Google in China, and iPads. There is also a nice list of other blogs and web sites of interest.

Art & Seek drops in to talk with the ScultpCAD Rapid Artists

Shane Pennington talking with Jerome Weeks from KERA/Art & Seek

Reporter Jerome Weeks from KERA/Art & Seek dropped by the SculptCAD studio to talk with some of the artists involved in the SculptCAD Rapid Artists project. He was there for over 2 hours patiently recording the techno geek terminology and the arty babble. Hopefully he got enough intelligent, understanable dialoge to post something on Art & Seek.

On a side note, I think all the artists benefited from having to put into words what they have been doing in the world of 3D computer modeling.

The Twisted world of 3D sculpting

This opportunity to work with the SculptCAD Radip Artists has been great. I am really getting comfortable using the few tools that I have chosen to focus on, and not hitting myself over the head for not knowing more about ALL the tools at hand. When I see people like Nancy Hairston or Heather Gorham work with this program, they just pull out tools, whip them around and wallah! It makes me yearn to have more time to play, but the Drop Dead due date for sending our sculptures to the printer is April 14th.

Developing a feel for the 3D world

In the real world, your clay never just disappears. But in the 3 D computer world, your hard work can just simply vanish, which is what happened today. Of the 3 hours I put into my project, I only have about 15 minutes of work to show for it. GRRR!

On the other hand my feel for using the sculpting tool is starting to feel much more like reallish sculpting.

Color Correct Photographic Reproductions

After 4 failed attempts at photographing the drawings in the Book Page Collection, and getting sad color reproduction, I finally found a friend that has one of those top of the line Epson scanners. With in an hour I had all the drawings scanned in beautiful living color. They are now posted on my Flickr page.

It's Worth the Risk Parking

Alison Starr

It was on one of those cold rainy days that we are having so many of, when I turned the corner and saw the sign for Mokah Coffee Bar and Mokah Art Gallery. Cold, wet, needing hot coffee and a good dose of art I ambled inside.

No Parking Any Time is the title of the group show that is up through March 6th. Kathy Lova, Alison Starr and Du Chau have filled this surprisingly will put together gallery space with sculptures and wall installations that are derived from found objects.

Du Chau

Each artists is working with a source material that is commonly found in our everyday environment, such as sticks, stuffed animals or plastic shopping bags. These base materials have been transformed through various processes to become something new but still recognizable.

Kathy Lovas

This juxtaposition creates a wide variety of tactile sensations and narratives. Du Chau's porcelain tree branches convey nature's beauty and it's fragileness. Kathy Lovas' plastic rapped bunnies expose the scary interior of what we consider to be cute and cuddly. Alison Starr uses her sewing skills to transform pounds of plastic shopping bags into beautiful icons of mass consumerism.

So even though the card says No Parking Any Time, ignore that. Grab a hot cup of Joe and spend some time in the gallery.