Nov 23, 2015 | By Tess

It is likely you have heard of the 3Doodler 3D printing pen, which since it was released through a kickstarter campaign in 2013 has played a big role in making additive manufacturing technologies more accessible through both its affordability, its user friendly nature, and its creative potentials. The 3D printing pen was marketed to possess endless creative possibilities, and certain artists and innovators have certainly taken this in stride, making exceptional design objects from the 3Doodler technology. For instance, earlier this year, we wrote about Grace Du Prez’s impressive 3Doodled lampshades which combined the 3Doodler with a range of household items, and in 2014 an artist by the name of Kade Chan used the 3Doodler to make a pair of striking additively manufactured high heeled shoes.

Crystal Matrix

Now, attention has been turned to Queensland, Australia based artist Erica Gray, who has used the 3Doodler to create a series of detailed, structural, and quite frankly, beautiful fashion pieces, which the artist has classified as “wearable sculpture”.

Erica Gray

Gray, a versatile artist who has worked with many artistic mediums in the past including painting, textiles and soft sculpture, was undoubtedly struck by the potentials of the 3Doodler when it was first launched on Kickstarter a few years ago as she backed the project and received one of the first generation 3Doodler pens, though it wasn’t until the 3Doodler 2.0 was released that she began to use the technology seriously.

Recently highlighted on the 3Doodler’s Community Spotlight, she explains, “We bought our 3Doodler when it was first listed on Kickstarter and sometime later it came and we excitedly opened the box, had a quick play, then I packed it away and forgot about it for a year or so. However I was thinking about utilising it for a wearable sculpture piece and by the time the 2nd generation pen was listed on Kickstarter, I ordered another new pen so I would have a back-up before starting my designs.”

The first pieces she created using the 3Doodler pen are called Infinity and Crystal Matrix and were made to be featured in this year’s The World of WearableArt Show, a New Zealand based annual international art and fashion show that highlights innovative, artistic and out of the ordinary garments.

Infinity

Crystal Matrix, an impressive white sculptural body and head piece made from 3kg of ABS plastic and consisting of 5 separate 3Doodled sections, was inspired by organic and natural structures such as “ice crystals, gem stones and jagged form”. The project took several months to complete, as it consisted of Gray first having to create design sketches and figuring out how it could be put together and structured before beginning the 3Doodling. “Originally starting from simple sketches, I usually map out a plan of action as well as sort out any connecting components before making a start,” explains Gray. “I worked on the torso section first, as it was the largest piece, before continuing onto the other sections…I find sectioning larger works into smaller sections makes them much more manageable.”

Her other project meant for the World of WearableArt Show, Infinity, is a combination of PVC coated lycra material with ABS plastic detailing. The design and concept bear a clear distinction from Crystal Matrix, as Gray was inspired by Internet code and meta data for Inifinity. “…It’s my take on all that imagined data being stored, backlogged and rewritten into wriggly, twisted thick black data cables and plastic antennae,” she says.

Gray feels that the 3D printing pen has allowed her to create otherwise impossible structures for fashion and has opened many doors for her creatively. “I love working in plastic,” she elaborates. “It’s so lightweight and unbound by conventional structural constraints.” In the future, Gray says she will continue to incorporate the 3Doodler into her work, as she plans to keep adding to her collection of wearable art.

Gray has also entered a design into the upcoming 2015 3Doodler Awards, the impressive Blackbird Feather Headpiece pictured below.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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Buster Knut wrote at 11/24/2015 12:13:42 PM:

I know a few ugly birds that would benefit from this fashion... At least till the beer goggles kick in.



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