Angel Benedetti:Project 1 Milling

Thanks to Digital Applications in Sculpture (SCPT 250) I have now, for the first time, encountered 3D modeling software! For my first project I wanted to wrap my ahead around Rhino and push myself to create something that I could employ practically and extend upon later down the road.

I made a curved surface with the Flower of Life extruded above it.

The Flower of Life is a geometric figure that is a visual expression for life’s synchronicities and connections among humanity. It’s a symbol that may mean different things to different people. For me, it’s a mandala for meditation.

My process: found an image of the flower thanks to Google image search; brought image into Adobe Illustrator where I ‘live traced’ and ‘expanded’ it and exported the file; then into Rhino where I made a curved surface, exploded my imported flower, projected the flower to my construction plane, extruded the flower above the surface plane, etc.

One of my biggest challenges in Rhino was undercuts in my design. Initially, it had many. Also, my flower design was too thin to be milled and would have cracked. Thankfully I moved past these obstacles.

An inspiration, somewhat related to this project, is Frida Kahlo’s oil painting Flower of Life.

Also there are a few flower mandala tapestries that inspired this project.

My piece will be milled out of gray foam at 13’ x 13’ x 2’.

Professor Scott and I also completely constructed a flower of life design in Illustrator that I’ll soon be sending to the laser cutter.

I’ll cut this pattern 3 times and glue them together which I’ll then be able to vacuum seal out of soft craft foam. I hope to make many of these padded flowers that I’ll install into a yoga room and cover wall for yoga practices and play time.

I’ve come far, but have a long way to go. More pictures to come!