metal_0047
A tiny palette / scrap drawer creature cleanser after the bigness of Caligari’s Lighthouse combining one of my 3D-printed plant pot designs with a bunch of nigh-castasides. Name TBD.
metal_0046 :: caligari's lighthouse
Inspired by two of my favorite psychological horror films, 99 years apart – Robert Wiene's THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI and Robert Eggers's THE LIGHTHOUSE – and built from a never-to-run-again combine exhaust pipe (that I got to cut off in the middle of a field), lots of sheet metal, and the door to an abandoned gun safe, CALIGARI'S LIGHTHOUSE is not only the largest-scale piece I've made but a functional floor lamp (if you have a room big enough for it). A fun exploration of nightmarish German expressionism – something I'll definitely keep playing with.
metal_0045 :: strawberry sundA.I.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked Claude AI to create a random 3D-printable geometric form (.STL)/ shape that no human could create on their own upon which I would then construct a scrap metal (it was mostly made of tractor parts) structure around. Initial thought was that it would be a more abstract sculpture (I was shocked at how much it looked like Superman's movie Fortress of Solitude), but it totally changed once I added the spoon and the Audrey Horne-tribute cherry with a stem knot. From there, I played with the memory of the strawberry sundaes my grandmother used to make me, and improvised.
For this interested, here's how Claude defined "a shape that no human could create on their own":
"Geometric impossibility - Those internal connecting elements, the precise mathematical relationships between all the facets, and the way multiple geometric systems intersect. A human could conceptualize parts of it, but coordinating all those angles and ensuring they connect properly while maintaining structural integrity would be nearly impossible without computational help.
Manufacturing impossibility - The way the geometry flows from the base platform through those angular transitions up to the crystalline towers. Try to imagine machining that by hand - you’d need to somehow access all those internal angles and create those precise wall thicknesses. Even with CNC, some of those geometries would be extremely challenging.
Mathematical precision - Every vertex placement is calculated based on trigonometric relationships, distortion algorithms, and structural requirements. A human could approximate it, but achieving that exact mathematical relationship between all elements simultaneously? That’s really a computational strength."
An intriguing experiment that pushed me into an area I never considered.
metal_0044
What started life as a pair of bent and broken jackstands became a planter which it stayed until we couldn’t figure out what to plant in it and I decided to make a metal vine of imaginary metal flowers from the discarded clippings and trimmings of this summer’s metalwork. Managed to hang it above the side door without getting mangled by the wasps. Tempers flared, but stingers didn't.
metal_0043
My wife gave me a pair of old garden shears and said she wanted me to make something with them so I stared at them off and on for a few weeks until this hit me yesterday. Added the base (I’m thinking it was the top of a bit of farm machinery exhaust), designed and printed the lampshades (used magnetic USB-C bulbs for the lights – a wonderful thing for making lamps with reclaimed metal), and took a wild creative swing with the red paint. Worked out well, I think.
metal_0042 :: hank and frank
I was halfway through this latest character when I figured out how deeply I was inspired by Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar’s brilliant BUG WARS series. So I rolled with it and ended up with my own original denizens of Slade’s yard: Hank’s the (bug) explorer, Frank’s his (slug) steed, all birthed from old tractor parts, plenty of nuts and washers, typewriter bars, and, in Frank’s case, an old boot jack my wife gave me.
