Most of us are content with 3D printing’s amazing ability to convert digital models into 3D objects, amazed at the transformation from the virtual to the real. If you’re a net artist, though, printing Yoda heads is the last thing you’d be content with. At least, that’s how Australian artist Lia feels.
Lia first made a name for herself in the art world in the 1990’s with websites featuring artwork generated by algorithms, but most recently approached 3D printing with a concept artist’s eye.
After receiving a 3D printer as a gift from her husband, she began toying with what a 3D printer can do aside from robotically translating models to physical objects. She wanted to know what can be achieved with the actual properties of filament and the movements of the printhead.
Using her own program, Lia attempted to understand the parameters of her printer and the filament that runs through it.
Like any good scientist, Lia documented her research process for others to replicate. She is posting her experiment notes in her blog, so not only can you watch the journey from blobs of white goo to organically structured filament sculptures, but you might be able to better understand your own print settings, too.
After continuous experimentation, Lia claims that she was able to create a new kind of sculpture, native to the medium. Looking to see how one might control or not control filament, her sculptures reveal a few of the lessons she learned, one of them being that filament can be closely controlled or let free to find its own form. For more lessons learned you can watch her sculptures, in various stages of filament liberation in the following video:
