STEM/ STEAM education

Book - 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting and Milling.

 

 

 

STEM/STEAM

Questions Without Answers.

• You are an artist, how does technology fit into what you are doing as an artist?
• Can you share some instances of using this technology?
• This is for a famous public sculpture?
• I hear you hid things in the sculpture?
• Any hints on how to find them?
• Can you tell us one?
• Does this one have something to do with the teapot that the Mad Hatter is holding?
• What does Utah 1985 that have to do with a 150-year-old story?
• I see how you used technology in “creating” the Alice in Wonderland Sculpture, did it end after it was installed?
• You are also the author of the book 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting, and Milling.
• Why is this an important book?
• Do you have any favorite artists in the book that focus on technology?
• You keep using the word STEAM /STEAM we know that STEM works with Science,
• Technology Engineering and Math, but what is the A?
• Any other artists that you want to share with us?
• What else are you working on now?
• Why does Neil Armstrong go to Russia?
• Any educational elements in STEAM that our listeners can use?
• How can people find out about your work or get your books?

 

Questions with answers and slide reference ( Even if you don’t use presentation material this will be a quick way for the host to get to know what the artist is talking about when it comes to the technology.) 

 

• You are an artist. How does technology fit into what you are doing as an artist?

 (Slide 1, 2 and 3) 

I use 3D scanning to get art into the computer. I also use CNC or (computer numerically controlled milling,) which helps me to go big and 3D printing to go small. I also sculpt both traditionally and digitally. So technology is a big part of my work. 

• Can you share some instances of using this technology?
  (Slide 4) 

Sure, as with my Alice in Wonderland sculpture scene, which is very big. I started with a small digital sketch done on the computer to help me “sell” the idea to the client.  

( Slide 5) 

Then I went to a small clay sculpture. I like the tactile feel, and so I do like the feeling of hands-on. Once that is done, I, 3D  scan it with a 3D scanner. A 3D scanner measures the surface and makes it into code. 

From there, I work the data some more in the computer, as it is easier for me to make corrections on a digital model, say sculpting a tiny teacup and watch that the March Hare is holding than to sculpt it traditionally very small.  

(Slide 6 movie)
Now I have to get the art back out of the computer. I do this with CNC Milling. CNC stands for (computer numerically controlled) milling. The machine takes something called the G-code and can make my art back into a physical form. CNC is really like a drill bit that goes all over the foam. It can carve a lot of detail, but time on the machine is expensive, So I get the basic shape from the machine and carve the rest by hand. I’m going to use this foam as a base or armature for my sculpting. 

(Slides 7, 8 and 9,10,11) 

Once it is out of the computer and into foam, My vendor sends it back to me. I carve on the foam and add details with clay.  Then it has to go through a traditional bronze casting. 

• This is for a famous public sculpture?
  (Slides  12-17) 

Yes. You can find it in Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire, Texas, near Houston. The characters are 10 feet tall and surround a table. The March Hare, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Dormouse, and Alice are all having a tea party. I call the sculpture, “Move one place on” because that is what the Mad Hatter says in chapter 7. “I want a clean cup, let’s all move one place on." You can sit at the table and many climb on the pieces. I like to sit on Alice’s head.  

• I hear you hid things in the sculpture?  (Slide 18)

There are also 150 hidden things in the bronze. I put them there in honor of the anniversary of the story. So when you go look at it, it becomes a treasure hunt to spot them all. 

• Any hints on how to find them? (Slide 19, 20, 21)

I’m revealing them through my social media on Instagram and Twitter, etc, but they are done in riddle and rhyme like Lewis Carroll would write. He is the author of Alice in Wonderland. I also have a Wonderland Detective book you can find on the Alicesculpture.com website just in case you want to guess, and you need a place to record your findings. 

• Can you tell us one? (Slides 22)

Oh, there are so many, Some are from the story, and some are personal. For example, pay attention to all of the buttons, we designed them in the computer and then3D printed them and embedded them into the clay before casting in bronze. But here is one with a that I’ll share that is technology-driven. 

 ( slides 23),

Tech marries clay in Wonderland,

The Hatter steps in and lends a hand.

Not from Texas, But Utah it came.

Not Victorian but rather plain.

Because Sandra and Martin liked their tea,

an homage to a man, you now do see. 

 

Can you guess what it is? 

• Does it have something to do with the teapot that the Mad Hatter is holding? ( slide 24)

Brilliant, Yes.  You see, the teapot that is in the Mad Hatter’s hand is rather plain, while everything else is very decorative.  On the bottom of the teapot, it says UTAH 1985.

• What does Utah 1985 that have to do with a 150-year-old story? 

(slide 25 you may have to click through each image) 

Well, Professor Newell at the University of Utah back in 1985  wanted to create the first computer graphic.  S, he asked his wife what would be a good subject. And she said, here take my teapot. He used math; there were no computer programs to it back then. So, this teapot is rather famous. It is even in the computer history museum. You can find it as a tribute to Professor Newell in things like Homer Simpson, and cartoons.  Because I love technology, I had to include it in my work.  As a thank you to professor Newel. 

• I see how you used technology in “creating” the Alice in Wonderland Sculpture, did it end after it was installed?  

(Slide  26, 27 is a MOVIE you might want to stop this movie between the two scanning processes depending on what I’m talking about there is the blue light scanning that comes after the park scan slide 28. )

 No, after it was installed Intertek scanning company helped. 

 They did two scans. It was sp cpp;/ They put these balls around the area of the park where we installed the sculpture. These act like registration dots to align all the scans in the computer.  Then they scanned the entire part of the park. Now we have an entire scan of that area.  It is a virtual reality, in the video you see the mesh and then the color added. 

I hope to find a college that will like to work with me to make this into an online educational resource. For example, students could click on the characters and get the 150 clues, or maybe learn something about the history of the scene. For example, Did you know the reason they called the Mad Hatter mad? It was the chemicals used in felting. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning making them appear crazy. 

They did another type of scan as well. Intertek  usually scans oil refineries, so this was a fun project for them. We went back to the park, at night. We had to put dots all over Alice and her friends. These dots help the many scan files to register inside the computer. We 3D scanned the entire scene with a blue light scanner. It took all night just to scan Alice. This scan holds all the detail. Now they are going to go small. I’m making the entire scene into a tabletop version after the files are shrunk down and 3D printed.  

See, Alice and her friends will be getting small again.

• You are also the author of the book 3D Technology in Fine Art and Craft: Exploring 3D Printing, Scanning, Sculpting, and Milling. Why is this an important book?  

(slide 29)

This book bridges the gap between technology and fine art. It is the first of its kind. 

I searched the world over to find artists who were pushing the limits with the combination of art and technology. 

• Do you have any favorite artists in the book that focus on technology? 

(Slide 30)
I have lots of favorites in the book, but one that is kind of strange is  Oron Catts, Oron did this crazy thing.  He created a piece of art that was in a biosphere. It was a coat of human skin, well human, and I think rat skin.  He would display it in a gallery, and at the end of the art show, he would break open the sphere and kill it. 

• Oh, a coat of skin? That is creepy. Why did he make it

Yes, that is what I thought. It reminds me of Frankenstein. But he did it because he wanted to bring awareness through his art about how people are dissociated with what is happening in the laboratories. He tried to make us uncomfortable. He is the director at SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia. SymbioticA understands that A in STEM/STEAM. They combine artists and scientists to create things together. I think that is so cool. 

• You keep using the word STEAM  STEAM we know that STEM works with Science, Technology Engineering and Math, but what is the A? ( Slide 31) 

Oh, I am a proponent of STEAM. STEAM adds an art element.  It is an interdisciplinary approach meaning using art with science, technology engineering, and Math. Just like with Oron Catts, I think art can inform the other disciplines. It also helps to present them. I mean, how do you have a science fair without having the art element? I’m all about “defending the A and going with STEAM!” That is my motto. 

• Any other artists that you want to share with us? (Slide 32) 

Yes, for example, With Object Breast Cancer, an artist had breast cancer, and she wanted to see what her cancer looked like. She 3D printed it. Most anyone can do this with free software. 

I have listed some in my book. 

Anyway, she made it into jewelry.

• Eww…
  

I know who wants their cancer hanging around their neck? But artists are like that, they push the boundaries and do strange things. Sometimes this leads to new discoveries.  She had an art show, and an oncologist came into the show and made a comment on how they have never studied cancer this way, and he wanted to develop an entire study examining the 3D elements of cancer. It all happened because this artist pushed the boundaries. I love that.

• What else are you working on now?

(slide 33 and 34)
Glad you asked, I just finished a small sculpture of Booker T Washington I’ll go through the same process to make him one and one half life-size. I’m also creating some STEAM education around it. You can follow along on their blog.

( slide 35, 36, 37, 38,) And I’m doing a sculpture of Neil Armstrong that is going to Russia and Space Center Houston. I hope to get permission to use the 3D scan of his suit that was scanned by the Smithsonian.  You can find this on unitedinspace.com 

• Why does Neil Armstrong go to Russia? 

(39) They gave the United States a sculpture of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. We would like to reciprocate and have our astronaut on their soil. 

• Do you have any educational elements in STEAM that our listeners can use?

(slide 40 and 41)
Yes,  I talk with students all the time about the match behind the 3D scan and 3D model. It works with geometry. So I created a free printable of a dodecahedron that parents can use to talk about vertices and faces. 

I mention a few in my book The NASA website offers free STEAM education for all ages. 

(slide 42, 43)  For example, CYark does scans of famous places around the world. They have educational resources on scanning and STEAM education. 

(Slide 44)

Also check out the Smithsonian’s website. Many museums are beginning to scan their collections. You can visit right from your own home. 

These are a lot of links. I’ll put them on my website blog at creativesculpture.com 

• How can people find out about your work or get your books?  

(Slide 45 and 46.)

3D technology in Fine Art and Craft: is available on Amazon. And you can find me everywhere. Please follow me on social media at and my website is www.creativesculpture.com Alice can be found on the alicesculpture.com website. 

Thanks for having me.