...and again!

And so we reach the final instalment of my saga about Shape Shifters (the Dancers) - work which started a full five years ago!

In my last two posts I've explained the back story and design work and also the glass making.  Now for a little information on the laser cutting and final construction.

You might remember that I'd prepared some drawings in Inkscape, ready to be cut using a laser cutter.  Well, the morning of my booking came around, and I headed off to Black Country Atelier in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter with my USB pen and a box full of plywood (purchased from Hobarts).

The drawings made in Inkscape (which you can see on the right) need to be imported into the software which actually controls the laser cutter - and then it's a matter of choosing both the right power and speed settings to enable the laser to cut through your chosen material.  Luckily, Black Country Atelier have a number of sample sheets with cuts made at a variety of settings - which reduces the amount of guesswork for a beginner like me!



The photo above shows the laser at work cutting one of my Inkscape files.  You can probably see that the plywood has been stuck to the bed of the machine with masking tape - that's to hold the wood flat (there was a little bit of curvature on some sheets).

With a little help, I managed to cut 5 pattern sheets in just over 2 hours, each variations on the design above.

Then it was a matter of construction...

Each layer of plywood was 3mm or 6mm thick, and by sticking these layers together, I was able to build up the final "frames" to hold the glass.  Here you can see some of the frames clamped together while the glue dries.

On the front and back faces, I added an extra relief layer - which I decided to stain in a darker colour.  This tied in nicely with the burnt edges of the plywood.

And this photo to the left shows the final form of the pieces.

I've still got to glue the back faces onto the frames - but that'll happen once I get the glass back from its acid dip!

I had a lot of fun with this project - and it was great to finally complete a design idea that's being lurking at the back of my mind for so long!

Another Dance?

I made these two pieces (Dance) back in 2008.  They were two of several experiments I did combining concrete and glass. Unfortunately this particular brand and mix of concrete wasn't fully compatible...so after a few months some of the glass cracked.

But I've always wanted to revisit these pieces: I felt the design worked, even if the concrete:glass combo didn't.  I particularly like the fact that the pieces will stand (or gently rock...) on all four sides.

Well, the laser cutting course I did earlier this month finally gave me the impetus to have another go: as the laser can deal with both curves and circles accurately and efficiently!

My first job was to create the drawing files which would be used to control the laser cutter.  For this I used Inkscape - an open source vector graphics program, which you can download for free.  It's fairly user-friendly if you've used photo editing or 3D design programs - and there are plenty of videos on YouTube for beginners.  This is a screen shot of one of my files in Inkscape, showing some of the basic shapes. The pieces with the deep curves instead of circles will form a low relief on the front and back of each sculpture.

I also added a few extra shapes into the spaces on this worksheet (which I'll use to make moulds for another project) - as I didn't want to waste any of my plywood!


For the original, experimental Dance, I reused some old glass casts from a temporary sculpture.  This time round, I decided the pieces deserved some glass which was designed with them in mind!  In the past couple of months I've been working on a series of work called Shape Shifters - and I suspected that this style would carry across to my new Dance pieces.

So I started experimenting with cardboard circles...  This photo shows the final three cardboard models. (The circles were cut using a little plotter cutter - I'm not that good with a Stanley Knife!)  The orange/brown colour is down to a layer of shellac - which stops either the gelflex or the silicon welding to the surfaces when I make the moulds!  These are relatively low relief models (about 15mm), as I want the final glass pieces to be between 18 and 20mm to fit within the plywood framework.

I chose the diameter of the models to match the inside of a drainpipe, so I could use a drainpipe to form the mould walls.  (My foresight and planning are finally getting a little better..!)

I'll add another post later this week, covering the rest of the process.

Laser Cutting at Black Country Atelier

Lots to think about this weekend: yesterday I did the Introduction to Laser Cutting course with David Brannon at Black Country Atelier.

This photo shows my first experiments during the class. We used the open source vector graphic program Inkscape to create the drawings. These were then transferred into LaserWorks - the program which actually controls the laser.

By varying the speed and power of the laser, you can achieve different results: cutting or etching to different depths. (You can see two different etching depths in the 'Red' and the 'path' of Redpath)

Our test pieces were done in 3mm birch ply - but it's also possible to cut cardboard, leather, acrylic and even glass..! Different materials need different speed/power settings.

If you're based near Birmingham, I'd recommend Black Country Atelier. The course was a great taster - and once you've had the intro, you can book to use the laser cutter by the hour. I will definitely be visiting them soon!