Laser cut peacock mandala

January 30, 2019 6:38 AM

Laser cut peacock mandala
This is an art project I finished in October of last year. Details are all in the linked photo album.

Role: designer

posted by MillMan (16 comments total)

This project was posted to MetaFilter by Anonymous on January 30, 2019: "Adobe Illustrator is a horrible piece of....software"

This is so cool! Thank you so much for posting the process -- it was super-interesting!
posted by joyceanmachine at 10:05 AM on January 30, 2019

I am so glad you took the extra time to explain how this works. i was fascinated with the design but the process is also super interesting.
posted by jessamyn at 11:00 AM on January 30, 2019

Wow! The process shots are fascinating and beautiful! Glad you posted it here.
posted by ellieBOA at 11:39 AM on January 30, 2019

Yes, the process photos make the finished work seem even that much more—onscreen, at least; I bet seeing it in real space gives one an even more immediate sense of "wow". I hope you get to hang these somewhere, and not burn them when complete)!
posted by not_on_display at 12:49 PM on January 30, 2019

Yeah, it's definitely a step up to see it in person. Its appearance changes with angle obviously since it's 3D, and it reads different at different viewing distances as well.
posted by MillMan at 1:08 PM on January 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is incredibly fucking cool.
posted by gauche at 6:40 AM on January 31, 2019

I want this in my house, lit gallery-style from multiple angles, with procedurally-generated music playing at all times.

We have a new Cricut machine in our house, and it's reviving long-dormant memories from my paste-up and prepress days of layer-stacking and trapping and color separations -- so this hit me at a time when I not only respond to its beauty, but also to the mechanical aspects of its design and growth.

GOT DAMN WHAT WHAT WHAT
posted by wenestvedt at 8:01 AM on January 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

TC maker over Minneapolis / Seward: http://www.tcmaker.org/blog/

It's a great place, I have done some woodworking there as well.
posted by MillMan at 10:50 AM on January 31, 2019

They have an open house every Wednesday from 7-9pm (confirm on the "calendar" tab on their website). They'll give you a tour and you'll have a chance to sign up ($50 a month I believe) and they'll give you a key fob for the front door.
posted by MillMan at 1:07 PM on January 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

This is amazing! I can't imagine doing that may layers for block print (my current medium)

So very amazing. Great job.
posted by dreamling at 10:14 AM on February 1, 2019

Gorgeous! I’m not artistic at all and I admire your vision and dedication to this. It’s a beautiful piece!
posted by bookmammal at 12:42 PM on February 1, 2019

Love this! What product did you use and what was your process for gluing the layers?
posted by Bunglegirl at 12:56 PM on February 3, 2019

Stunning! Thank you for sharing your steps. Really turned out well.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 10:18 PM on February 3, 2019

Bunglegirl: Here is the paper I used. For gluing I used CA (superglue) - a drop or two at probably an average of 30 spots per layer. On the lower layers in particular I started gluing in the center as it was critical that the features in the center lined up first. The humidity swings over the several months I did the laser cutting made it tougher as the paper shrinks and expands a bit.
posted by MillMan at 8:11 AM on February 4, 2019

It looks great—I would have thought there would be puckering of the paper with a wet glue but it looks like you had no problems. I don't have central AC and struggle with humidity in anything paper in my house too.
posted by Bunglegirl at 6:38 PM on February 4, 2019

Late March 2019: finally got the frame built and mounted on the wall. The linked album has been updated with new photos regarding the frame build and installation on the wall.
posted by MillMan at 8:17 PM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]