A Real Beauty

Honestly I never thought 3D printing could be a viable medium to make really beautiful organic sculptural things. I'm still way off its full potential  but I really surprised myself this time. I feel like I've got a step closer to realising the thoughts and feelings in my head, and thankfully they don't look too bad either, Phew! I get so wrapped up with horrible world news and social networks nowadays. I'm in need of therapy! So I'm trying to focus on a singular aim - To look for beauty in unexpected places.

I love the way this print came out, the black PLA by Arianeplast (Fabrique en France!) printed really well, when I look at it I feel genuinely happy, strange and nerdy but whatever works... The original Grasshopper model was tweaked after  test prints indicated problems. I've now decided to print two walls instead and reduce the layer height to 0.1mm to improve detail and strength on overhangs. Now  just one or two small flaws remain that will hopefully be ironed out in the next version.

I have even had a stab at signing my work. I decided on the Chinese character of my family name which is Tan but written 'Chen' in Mandarin. It looks the business!

Murmurations 2 will be even better, printed with translucent PLA with digitally controlled LEDs to give the thing more energy and movement to capture the feel of a real murmuration, which was my original aim.

In the meantime - Starling Murmurations 1 can be downloaded here - https://pinshape.com/items/33696-3d-printed-starling-murmurations-1