Mar 5, 2018 | By Tess
There’s no question that 3D printing pens can be used to create some pretty amazing and creative things. From fashion to 3D paintings and sculpture, people have been pushing the artistic boundaries of the 3D pen medium for years. Never before, however, have we had to take a second glance at a 3D pen sculpture to see if it wasn’t actually the real thing.
Artist Martin Binder has created a four-meter-long birch tree sculpture using a 3D printing pen and a wood-plastic composite filament. The piece, called “Portrait of a Birch,” is currently on display in Berlin at the Super Bien! Greenhouse for Contemporary Art, where it is suspended inside of a glass casing.
From afar, the 3D drawn tree is uncanny, and one might easily and mistakenly believe it is a real birch tree branch that is hanging behind glass. Upon closer inspection, however, the precisely drawn lines of the 3D pen’s plastic become apparent. Amazingly, the plastic filament of the 3D pen mimics the pattern and visual structure of an actual birch tree.
For an added feel of authenticity, Binder chose to work exclusively with a filament made from plastic and birch wood. He adds that he closely studied natural birch trees to perfectly capture their look. “My eyes were the 3D scanner and my hands were the 3D printer,” he says.
Overall, it took Binder over 250 hours to create the tree using a 3D printing pen (the equivalent of over six weeks of full-time work!) and the effort is apparent in the branch’s fine details and natural feel.
The 3D drawn tree branch is being displayed inside a glass case, which was a deliberate choice of Binder’s. As he explains: “I spend a lot of time on Instagram, where I consume images behind a glass screen. This work is a three-dimensional equivalent to digital media consumption. A fragment of a tree can be visually experienced behind the glass walls of the unconventional exhibition space.”
As the tree is exhibited outside, viewers can visit it at any time of the day or night.
Posted in 3D Design
Maybe you also like:
- Russians take AR selfies with 40-ft Vladimir Putin
- The future of healthcare: 3D printing and VR 'video games' for doctors
- Students develop chocolate 3D printer that prints on water
- Moti Digital 3D prints 12-foot-tall skeleton for Mexican Festival of Light
- No business? 3D print your own magnetic signage
- Maker Profile: Naomi 'SexyCyborg' Wu on being a woman in tech, 3D printed wearables, more
- Top 10 useful 3D printed accessories for any maker
3Ders.org provides the latest news about 3D printing technology and 3D printers. We are now seven years old and have around 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
