ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN!

Posted on August 24, 2010by shhark

The storefront is finally open for business (click on “Store” to go there). I’ll be adding even more products soon but I think there is something for everyone to get started. Hope you like!

Much of my current work is physically built via various 3D printing technologies. My pieces are first sculpted digitally using industrial design and sculptural CAD software. All creative processes happen at this stage. I use no automated or computer generated computational derivatives. All forms are designed, developed, and executed by me in a similar creative processes I use when sculpting in clay, stone, or wood. The softwares & peripherals I use are simply new tools in my art and require no less skill to learn and use than the traditional variety. Over time these new tools have become very intuitive and organic in not only how I happen to use them, but in how the they’ve been specifically developed for use by artists rather than engineers. I consider the actual 3D printed models as tangible documentation of the work and they exist as the preferred way for me to develop and show my pieces. I may in the future opt for 3D animation, holographic printing, virtual placement in the environment, or some other as-of-yet unknown visualization technology. For me now, nothing beats an actual object existing in space.

The necessary processes and technologies I use to create my art have only become available in a suitable manifestation within the last few years. A perfect storm of new software, advances in 3D printing technology, and material engineering opened the doors for me to bring my visions into reality. I had worked directly with all these components through the last many years testing and and applying it to my art waiting for it to mature into a usable medium. My work became all about rethinking how to build what I wanted because there were no traditional techniques to achieve it. My visions are now able to be realized sculpturally in archival materials including cast bronze and silver, glass, plastics, ceramic, and sintered metals.

3D Printed Polyamide & SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)

The other technology I commonly use is SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) using polyamide (a nylon based powder) as the medium. These models are also built one layer at a time but use a laser to fuse or sinter the polyamide powder together following the information of the sliced data. After all the layers have been printed, a mass of powder with the fused model inside is what awaits on the machine. The powder is then brushed & blown away to reveal the finished piece. The sculpture is then hand finished. Because of the complexity of the sculptures, any broken models typically cannot be repaired and must be completely rebuilt.

3D Printed PMMA Patterns & Lost wax Bronze Castings

For the cast bronze sculptures, the digital data is sliced into thousands of micro layers. Each layer of the design is printed out similar to an ink jet printer but in plastic based materials one layer at a time by jetting a binder into a thinly laid powder wherever the geometry requires, leaving unbound powder all around it for support. Each successive layer is built on top of the last until the model is complete. When the print is complete the remaining unbonded powder is brushed & blown away to liberate the pattern. The pattern is then cleaned & prepped then completely encased in an investment mold (like plaster). The mold with the model still inside is then put into a furnace and the model is incinerated while the mold remains intact. The ash is blown & vacuumed out. The investment mold is then placed under vacuum & molten bronze is poured into it. After the bronze has cooled the mold is broken away to reveal the metal sculpture. The gates & vents are cut off & the piece is sandblasted & polished. Wala, instant gratification (yeah right).

“Permutation Prime” tangle design in process

3d printed “Permutation Prime” pattern for bronze casting ready for removal from printer

3d printed model “Permutation Prime” being removed from printer

“Permutation Prime” model ready for powder support material removal

Powder support material being removed with compressed air

“Permutation Prime” model gated & vented & ready for investment molding

Hot investment mold of after burn-out & ready for casting

Bronze casting after removal from investment mold, ready for sprue, gates & runners to be removed

Investment mold of “Permutation Prime” going into furnace for burn-out

Investment mold being lowered into vacuum casting vessel

Final preparations before casting

Molten bronze being ready for casting

Vacuum level ready for casting

Molten bronze being ready for casting

Molten bronze being cast into investment mold under vacuum

Bronze casting complete

Bronze casting completeBronze casting complete

Bronze casting complete

Investment mold of “Permutation Prime” ready to go into furnace for burn-out

Bronze casting after removal from investment mold, with sprue, gates & runners removed

Bronze casting after cleaning & sandblasting, ready for patina & polishing

Permutation Prime

Posted on July 9, 2010by shhark

My latest bronze tangle “Permtutation Prime” arrived just a few weeks ago after traveling internationally with Germany’s Voxeljet in support of their technology. Dimensions are approximately 9.5″ x 7.5″ x 8.0″. I’m currently working with them in efforts towards reproducing my tangles on a monumental scale so I can pursue public art commissions. I’ve tried to rethink the current approaches to creating archival sculpture editions as well as explored many emerging technologies in the rapid prototyping industry. Many are close but each has it’s own fatal drawback when applied to my designs. Voxeljet’s technology & vision has helped bridge the gap between my imagination & reality. Many thought not even a psychiatrist could manage that feat. 🙂 I’ll post pics of the process soon but you can also find them on my Facebook Page.

Meresamun: 2800 Year Old Mummy Forensic Facial Reconstruction

Posted on July 8, 2010by shhark

I have been asked to return to the Chicago Humanities Day Festival at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago this October to to reprise my talk about the Meresamun facial reconstruction! In mid 2009 I reconstructed the face of 2,800 year old mummy “Meresamun” from 256 CT scan database for The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Meresamun was an Egyptian woman who was a singer in the Interior of the Temple of Amun. She lived in ancient Thebes in about 800 B.C. and was the subject of an exhibition presented by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

I developed a 3D digital reconstruction process that is perfectly suited for reconstructions where the skull is physically unavailable, too fragile to be handled, or too valuable to risk damage or contamination. Also, it is more accurate than traditional sculptural techniques alone because of the ability to reference the skull continuously to maintain & confirm proper tissue depths & contours. The approach also offers many options in coloring, lighting, and is easily accessorized with hair, jewelry, etc. It was a perfect match for this project. The groundbreaking detail of the Meresamun CT scan offered such a unique opportunity for visualizing & studying such a fascinating piece of history without disturbing it. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to give her a face.

I gave a lecture at the 31st Annual Chicago Humanities Day Festival regarding the reconstruction. Besides the Oriental Institute’s Meresamun Exhibit, the reconstruction was also featured in Archaeology Magazine, KMT Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, on MSNBC, & Fox News, & countless other feeds on the internet. An interview with me regarding forensic art was also featured in Archaeology Magazine.

Check out these links for more about Meresamun & my reconstruction:

Special thanks to Egyptologist & curator Dr. Emily Teeter, Radiologist Dr. Michael Vannier, & everyone at the Oriental Institute!

ONLINE STORE NOW OPEN!

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Process

3D Printed Polyamide & SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)

3D Printed PMMA Patterns & Lost wax Bronze Castings

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Permutation Prime

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Meresamun: 2800 Year Old Mummy Forensic Facial Reconstruction

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3D Printed Polyamide & SLS (Selective Laser Sintering)

3D Printed PMMA Patterns & Lost wax Bronze Castings

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