Wood | Masonry | Acrylic | Thesis

Three Works in Acrylic

I've taken classes in CAD and fabrication, and the laser cutter is one of my favorite tools. Here are three projects made from laser-cut acrylic:

Violin, with Dan Corson

Inspired by the dreadful movie 'Starship Troopers', my friend Dan and I decided to try to make a replica of the 'space-age' violin used in that movie. This was more of a manufacturing exercise than a design exercise: Instead of redesigning the violin, we simply mimicked its shape. Fit and tolerances were critical, as was the ultimate criteria: Does it sound good? It was a pleasant surprise to find that it does in fact sound good, even without amplification. The electronics are simple: a piezo disk that leads to a 1/4" jack to the amplifier.

Picture Frames, inspired by Zach Kramer

With my growing interest in photography came an interest in mounting and displaying my photographs. Following the lead of my friend Zach Kramer, we each designed our own picture frames using the laser cutter. This one is designed so as to be able to be hung on a wall, or set on a table. The hardware is all stock from the MSC catalog. And the pieces disassemble and lay flat, for easy shipping as gifts to unsuspecting friends.

Rogues' Gallery Board Game, critic: Ann Pendleton-Jullian

As part of an upper level studio, we had to design and build a board game. The game play of this game is unremarkable; the actual object is more interesting. Each player would buy half of the game board, and half the pieces. Then, upon meeting another player, they would assemble a complete game. The pieces all store in the game board - the playing surface slides open to reveal storage.