art

Get Your Own Strandbeest Via 3D Printing

May 5, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

Remember those awesome “beasts” that were introduced to the world by Dutch kinetic artist Theo Jansen? They are called strandbeests, and they are made of every day materials such as water bottles, rods, plastic tubes, and rubber rings. The amazing thing about these creations is that they are self-propelling. Given the size of a strandbeest, seeing one in action is probably one of the most amazing sights ever.

Now, the average person will probably not have the opportunity to build or see one of these in real life. It’s a pity, especially since the amount of work and effort put into a single strandbeest is impressive. But what if there was a way to have your very own strandbeest? Not life sized, but something that can join your already huge toy collection.

With 3D printing, this is actually possible! I was quite a skeptic in the beginning with regard to 3D printing and its use, but the more I read about its applications, the more I am convinced about the whole concept.

Now Theo Jansen himself has shared his mini-strandbeest created using 3D printing! It really is fascinating, especially since the creature works just like its big brothers. Here’s the artist showing how it’s done.

http://youtu.be/nt8oHv09e_k

I have to admit – it looks like a tiresome process; but then again, I bet the original beasts were just as bothersome, if not more. You also have to think that in order to make something that is worthy of a permanent place in science fiction (as the strandbeests are), you have to go the extra mile. Now 3D printer manufacturers – make them so ordinary people can get hold of these devices!

What a Bored Math Teacher Can Do With Pencils

April 20, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

For some reason, I have always had a good relationship with my math teachers in grade school and high school. Now college professors were always touch and go – with all the math courses I had to take, I was bound to meet one or two that didn’t exactly become a bosom buddy. In any case, one thing that bugged me about certain branches of math was the fact that they didn’t seem to have immediate practical applications. All those equations and computations just seemed fruitless to me as a student who wanted to make something useful. I am sure many students have felt – and feel – the same way.

If it were up to this particular math teacher, though, I bet that students would have more practical applications of what they learn in class. Or maybe not.

What’s for sure is that he found some free time in his hands, a whole lot of pencils – 80 of them, and different kinds of glue. Throw in some geometric principles and a dash of inspiration, and this is what you get.

That’s called the STAR – Standardized Testing And Reporting, which is actually the test that his students are taking this month. (That’s where some of the inspiration came from!)

This is the same sculpture taken from a different angle.

In his blog, Mister Math Teacher ((An Ocean of Knowledge An Inch Deep)) talks about other sources of inspiration: work by George Hart ((Geometric Sculpture)) and Carlo H. Sequin ((Carlo H. Sequin’s Web Site)). He also reveals just how he got his pencil sculpture made. If you have an excess of pencils, why not give it a try?

Now I wonder if his star pupil will get the sculpture at the end of the academic year?

Be Your Own Souvenir

April 8, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

Calling all narcissists, or those with narcissistic tendencies! Here is the ultimate device for you guys: an installation that can scan you – or whatever you want to be – and then create a mini you. This installation was made by blablabLAB ((blablabLAB)) with the goal of “connecting street users, art, and science.”

And how is this achieved by playing on the love of self of people? Imagine this. You have always wanted to be a great guitarist immortalized through your music. The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem like the guitar responds to your fingers tender manipulations. Is there any way you can ever realize your dream? If you were to pose holding a guitar, acting as if you were playing in the biggest concert of you life, you just might be able to capture that memory via the Be Your Own Souvenir installation.

Using 3 scanners – no less than the Microsoft Kinect, a 3D image of yourself will be created. This image is then translated into a more tangible object via 3D printing, and before you know it, you will have yourself as a souvenir to take home!

The installation was tested in Barcelona on the first month of this year, and it seems that it was a huge hit. Locals and tourists alike stopped by to watch it at work, and not a few indulged themselves as struck whatever pose they fancied. See for yourself.

Be Your Own Souvenir! from blablabLAB on Vimeo.

I think this is brilliant, despite the joke about narcissism earlier. ((Or maybe my narcissistic subconscious is making itself felt.)) If anything, you can create toy figures of the people in your life.

Printing in 3D with Bone

March 16, 2011 by noemi Leave a Comment

3D printing is fast growing in popularity, and while access to 3D printing may not be that prevalent yet, the interest is definitely there. People have been printing all sorts of things in 3D these days – even chess sets! I don’t think there’s anything cooler – as of now – as what Juliana Meira do Valle and Michael Storey have done. Juliana is a DXArts/Art major and Michael is a Mechanical Engineering major. That is a perfect combination for this kind of project, don’t you think?

Basically, they decided to make meal to use as material for 3D printing. With this meal, they printed out, well, bones. How did they do it? They had two recipes for the bone meal.

Initial Bone Recipe

Powdered Bone Meal — 5 parts by weight.
12x Powdered Sugar — 1 part by weight.
MaltoDextrin —- 1 part by weight.

The other recipe resulted from the fact that they needed something stronger.

Secondary Bone Recipe

Powdered Bone Meal — 4-5 parts by weight.
UF plastic resin glue — 1 part by weight.

The result? Awesomely realistic bones!

This project has huge potential in many different aspects. Think about it – if someone can create “real” bone material, then 3D printing can be used for a host of medical purposes! Less critical – perhaps – but no less interesting is printing out entire skeletons for museums and similar purposes! Mark my words, we are going to hear about 3D printing a whole lot more in the months to come. In the meantime, hats off to these two students!

Via Open3dp

When Rubik’s Cube and The Joker Collide

February 2, 2011 by noemi 1 Comment

Rubik’s Cube is always a hit with nerds, geeks, or whatever label you want to use. Admit it, as a kid, you probably spent a considerable amount of time trying to one-up your friend in solving this puzzle. Decades later, Rubik’s Cube still holds irresistible attraction for kids of all ages. Of course, with the changing times, we also see all sorts of new things that people do with Rubik’s Cube.

Here’s a perfect example of what one can do with hundreds of Cubes. Sometime last year, artist David Alvarez decided to come up with a mosaic portrait of The Joker – the Heath Ledger version, of course. He used about 300 Rubik’s Cubes to create a pretty good representation of arguably the best Joker ever. Lest you think that it is a simple matter to put those multi-colored cubes together, I ought to tell you that Alvarez had to give his brain a little work out. Before putting the Cubes together, he first had to twist them into the appropriate color patterns.

Since I have never tried to create artwork with Rubik’s Cubes, I really don’t know difficult that is. I do think, however, that it might be a viable alternative to having to solve one of those darned puzzles. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

Here’s another video of the same artist creating another mosaic. This is an older video, actually, and he uses dice to “draw” Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. How cool is that?

Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests

January 31, 2011 by noemi 2 Comments

What in the world is a strandbeest? It is an animal created by Dutch physicist, artisit, and kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen. While it may not be a living form in the strictest sense, the strandbeest might very well fool you.

Jansen has gotten a lot of attention by creating beach animals which are self-propelling. That succinct description may not pique your curiosity enough, but trust me, watching a strandbeest in action definitely will. Jansen created his strandbeests using simple materials such as recycled water bottles, plastic tubing, rods, and rubber rings. Glancing at a beest, you wouldn’t think much of it – just another piece of installation art, probably. Once it starts moving on its own, thanks to the wind that has been “caught” in the water bottles, you probably will find your lower jaw dropping involuntarily. See it for yourself.

In his web site, Theo Jansen gives some details on how he was able to make these things work. You can find concepts, theories, and math – even details on the 11 Holy Numbers. If you’re the sort who wants to figure out exactly how things work, then you ought to read what the mastermind himself has to say. In case you get converted and become a Jansen fan – which is likely to happen – you can also get his books and DVDs from the web site.