Summerized

Speedo Clock

Last year, I designed this clock, cut out of acrylic with the laser cutter. It's comprised of shapes created by layering an image of a guy wearing a Speedo, and creates kind of an abstract, baroque form. I was really excited about the way it came together, and was looking forward to further experiments with patterns created from body shapes, and the way the clear acrylic interacts with light.

Unfortunately, the fumes from cutting plastic made me really sick, and I was out of commission for quite a while. This was a real disappointment, as I had lots of other acrylic projects in the hopper.

Recently, I changed direction with some new ideas, and started cutting some paperboard for another project. Unfortunately, the fumes from other people's projects (others cut plastics in the same facility) made me a little sick when I went in. I'm not really sure what to do next, as I work pretty iteratively, so mail order laser stuff seems like it wouldn't work as well for my projects.

Sharks with Lasers

At long last, I made it back to TechShop. Jason accompanied me to a refresher course on the laser cutter a couple weeks ago. And last week I started cutting on some transparent acrylic for a current project – a clock. It took a while to get the hang of the machine's eccentricities (mostly how to import files into Corel Draw, which you must use to "print" on the cutter). After some trial and error with files and with levels of power and speed, I manage to get one piece cut and etched nicely. The level of detail is really incredible – the etched lines are clean and nuanced, and the perforations and cut edges capture all the detail I wanted. It's a great tool. Next time I'll cut and etch the two other transparent acrylic pieces that make up the dial, and hopefully have time to start cutting and etching the hands too.