Tesselation Tango
By Adam Adcock
Inspiration & Investigation Objectives
The greatest source of inspiration for my work is the natural environment. I am fascinated by patterns found in nature. These patterns often signify growth, division, decay, movement, and attraction. The dichotomic balance that can be found between organic chaos and systematic geometry especially intrigues me. Most recently, I've been looking at microscopic images of pollen and plant seeds as inspiration.
Hybrid Geometric / Organic forms in nature. Plant seeds and microscopic pollen.
Mathematical Enigmas: Mobius Strips and Tesselating patterns
-Attempting to learn and apply new adaptive and parametric modeling software.
With this particular project, I'm exploring ways to apply patterned surfaces to digitally-modeled
forms. The composition is mostly the playful result of trying to apply newly-learned
applications of software.
Grasshopper plugin for Rhino3d
Experimenting with "Flow Along Surface" command in Rhino3d
Process:
Click on images below to see video of each process
Digital Modeling: Approx. 6 hours
3D Printing: Approx. 60 hours
Clean-Up of Prints: Approx. 20 hours
Sprue Construction: Approx. 6 hours
Mold-Making: Approx. 50 hours
Pattern Burnout: Approx. 20 hours
Metal Casting: Approx. 4 hours
Welding Forms Together and Repairing Defects: Approx. 10 hours
Metal Cleanup and Chasing:
Approx. 24 hours
Patina and Color Application:
Approx. 10 hours
Construction of Base: Approx. 8 hours
Final Assembly: Approx. 1.5 hours
Tools Used:
Rhinoceros: 3d modeling software
Grasshopper: Parametric modeling plugin for Rhino
Cura: Free, open-source slicing software that create gcode for printing
Formbot Raptor: FDM (filament-extruding) 3D printer
Wax Iron
Xacto knife
Kiln
Furnace
TIG welder
Dremel
Chasing Tools
Propane and Oxy/Acetylene Torches
Media Blaster
Files and Sandpaper
Merlin 2
wire brushes
Compound Miter Saw
Band Saw
Stationary Disc Sander
Results:
What's Next?
I am hoping to explore ways to flow organic tesselating patterns, taken from nature (in the form of photos and 3d scans), onto various geometric forms. I can imagine leaf vein textures or weathered wood grain being wrapped onto dynamic sculptural forms. I enjoy integrating the traditional metal-casting and mold-making processes into these investigations. So, will most likely continue to cast the resulting forms in metal. I can also imagine developing hybrid compositions that combine found objects from nature with the digitally-altered and manufactured objects.