Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Printing with the Egg-Bot

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

More test prints

So I’ve played around some more with the Egg-Bot printer. The software it runs is open source (free) and very easy to use, but best of all are the sample print patterns that come with it. Checker boards, New York City skylines, loopy waving patterns, even a world globe.

Printing is very addictive. Now on to creating my own designs.

Second Print First Print

Egg Bot

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

I have got to get my hands on one of these. The Egg Bot is an art robot. More precisely, an incredibly clever printer, only instead of printing on flat paper, it prints on round things. Eggs, Christmas ornaments, golf balls, and my particular favorite, light bulbs.

Lightbulb
Image from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

The designs it’s capable of creating are so cool. With light bulbs like these, who needs a lamp shade?

A cool video demo on Martha Stewart.

So yeah, I saw Inception last night

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Wooden Tops

After seeing Inception, I had to make my own totem. Two turned wooden tops (one oak, one ???), finished with tung oil and wax.

Lathe with a View

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

View from a Lathe

I recently got to use a lathe that quite possibly has the best view ever. The MAD Museum has working studio space up on the 6th floor, overlooking Columbus Circle. It is incredible, the image above does not do it justice. It was very easy to be distracted by the Columbus statue, Central Park, the fountains, the traffic, the people. Amazing.

I can’t wait to use it again.

View from a Lathe Columbus Circle from MAD Museum's Studio

Turned Oak Stool

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

After a little inspiration from Alma Allen, I turned my first stool (I guess it could work as a low end table as well). One of the bigger pieces I’ve ever turned.

Made from an oak tree that fell in the Poconos. I finished it with stain and tung oil.

14″ tall 10″ diam

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Robots on 5th Ave and 16th St.

Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Robot sculptures by Gordon Bennette. They are in a store window on 5th Ave at 16th St. Totally worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood.

I visited the back of the Nickel

Monday, September 14th, 2009

I recently visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s homestead. It was incredible. I have rarely been to a place that has inspired me so much, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Growing up, my favorite founding father (everyone had a favorite founding father, right?) was always Ben Franklin. Let’s face it, he had the best marketing. But after watching HBO’s John Adams mini-series (I can not recommend this enough, it will make you want to be a better American), I really started groovin on Jefferson. I loved the shots of him at Monticello, writing to Adams about how much he loved his home. I needed to see this place.

I knew Jefferson was a lawyer, a politician, and a writer. But I never knew what a Renaissance man he was. He was an architect (designed Monticello and the University of Virginia), a meteorologist (possibly the first in America), a musician, a zoologist, a botanist, an inventor, and a gadget guy. Monticello is now a museum and all of these aspects of his life are on display there.

TJ

Mastodon bones, given to him by Lewis and Clark, are on display (the man had dinosaur bones in his house). He has a giant 7 day clock, which he designed, that requires cannon balls as counter weights. He has a wine bottle dumb waiter hidden in the dining room fireplace. He used a polygraph to duplicate every letter he wrote. He invented automatic closing/opening doors. He invented double pane storm windows. He surrounded himself with books and art.

This place made me want to be better.

HunterGatherer

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Wow, these guys are great. Some incredible designs/films/art from HunterGatherer.

Thanks for pointing me in their direction Swissmiss.

HunterGatherer

Neonwood

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

I thought this was very clever. Designed by the Matthias Ries Design Office.

littleBits Launch Party at Eyebeam

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Last night I went to the littleBits launch party at Eyebeam. littleBits is an open source project that is trying “to end the mysticism around engineering and electronics, to counter the black box product ideology of consumer electronics, and to fuel an explosion of creativity and innovation in artists, designers, kids and hobbyists. The release of littleBits Version 1 on April 30, 2009, will be unique in that it is a growing library of circuit boards preassembled by tiny magnets—the first of its kind. littleBits requires absolutely no programming, no prior knowledge and no hardware or software set-up. Just snap and play!”

This video might explain it a little more clearly.

littleBits intro from ayah bdeir on Vimeo.

The stuff is great and I can’t wait to get my hands on some. I could’ve really used it on some of the props I’ve worked on in the past (here and here). The party was held at Eyebeam. “Eyebeam is an art and technology center that provides a fertile context and state-of-the-art tools for digital research and experimentation.” It’s in a very cool space in Chelsea.

Sorry for the bad pictures. In my defense, I’m a horrible photographer.