The inspiration for the show is the diverse beauty of the city we call home, Oakland.  It’s a testament to the creative capacity and variety of the group and a personal twist on where we play in the bay.  The work involves six scenes of Oakland that were broken into grids of as many as 80 squares per scene, each of which was done by an individual artist in their own particular style.  It is an honor to be a participant and I’m grateful to once again see my work carried by the hard labor of this talented group, especially those who pulled long and hard to make this happen.

For the show I created two squares representing the hallowed visage of Oakland’s iconic art deco Fox Theater, recent beneficiary of a multi million dollar restoration and regular home to world class musical acts.  My recent work has been undergoing a drastic process of rebirth here in the studio and I was pleased to spearhead this transformation by tackling this project with my new CNC embroidery machine.  This was an enormous undertaking for someone new to the technology, as I quickly came to appreciate, learning the nuts and bolts of embroidery digitizing, and tackling the challenges of re-hooping and aligning the fabric multiple times to create a large embroidery.

Following are pictures of my two squares, each measuring 1 square foot, followed by a shot of the collective piece.  See the rest of the exhibit online here and in San Francisco until June 2013.

Speaking of exhibits you must catch while they last, don’t miss your chance to see the Raygun Gothic Rocketship on the San Francisco embarcadero.  The sublime retro futuristic monument also constructed by the aformentioned Five Ton Crane is scheduled to depart the solar system March 16th.

Stay tuned for more exciting new work.  I’ll give you a hint…it involves digital fabrication…

12 “x 12″

12′ x12″

Minna Window #3

Necklace by Nancy Banks. Image from polymerartarchive.com

Among Roche’s collection were a number of my beads that went to the Mingei International Museum.  They can be seen as part of the New Jewelry in a New Medium show until June 17, 2012.

The show represents the work of 64 artists whose work influenced and was influenced by the birth of this new medium.  I’m proud to be included.  Here is the full list:

“Dan Adams and Cynthia Toops, Jamey Allen, Kathleen Amt, Deborah M. Anderson, Nancy Banks, Meisha Barbee, Louise Belcher, Shellie Brooks, Donna Carty, Jean Comport, Dan Cormier, Katherine Dewey, Grant Diffendaffer, Marcea Donovan, Dayle Doroshow, Kathleen Dustin, Celie Fago, Janet Farris, Lori Feiss, Steven Ford and David Forlano, Galdieri, Gwen Gibson, Kathy Gregson, Dorothy Greynold, Ruth Ann Grove, Michael Grove, Lindly Haunani, Amelia Helm, Jean Hornberger, Tory Hughes, Joanne Hunot, Marie Johannes, Donna Kato, Kaz Kono, Klew (Karen Lewis), Z. Kripke, Jacqueline Lee Cherie, Sandra Lentz, Christine Leu, Laura (Oakes) Liska, Margaret Maggio, Barbara McGuire, Cheryl Michell, Linda Pederson, Carolyn Potter, Marion Quinn, Lorraine Randecker, Margaret Regan, Nan Roche, the Rouse House (Mary Rouse), Marie Segal, Rudi Sennett, Ileen Shefferman, Sarah Shriver, The Sisters of San Francisco, Liz Tamayo, Jan Twink, Pier Voulkos, Liv and Joy Waters, Andree Weinman, Elise Winters.”

Katherine Dewey Digital Sculpture (created in ZBrush)

The catch?  It’s not clay but a digital rendering–an image of a computerized 3D model that Dewey created in a program called ZBrush.  The program excels at both hard surface modeling and organic sculpting.  It’s a great program for animators, but what really enticed me is it’s ability to export a file to a 3D printer.

I’ve been interested in rapid prototyping for some time, using photopolymer flexography since the early 2000′s to create relief plates that I could use to reproduce reliefs in polymer clay.  If you are not familiar with the process, it’s a relative of the first rapid prototyping technique, stereolithography, with which UV light is used to selectively harden resin.  At about the same time, I began using metal clay, and also discovered the work of Bathsheba Grossman, who uses RPT (rapid prototyping) processes to create incredibly complex geometric forms in metal.

Check out this video, where Grossman gives an in depth tutorial on her use of  T-Splines for Rhino, another industry leader in the field of 3D CAD design. She describes T-Splines as the application that is most like modeling with clay:

Not able to wait another moment, I dove headlong into an investigation of CAD programs.  I downloaded a trial version of ZBrush (full version costs $699), which allows 45 days of functionality.  Rhino also offers a trial version (full version $999), which allows only 25 saves, but will continue to function without the save feature indefinitely if you are just interested in learning the program.  Be sure to check out the jewelry specific plugin, Matrix, which allows detailed surface rendering with various jewels already pre-programmed.  Not to be ignored in this software roundup is the free, open-source and popular Blender.  Targeting the hobbyist crowd, AutoDesk aims to make desktop manufacturing simple with it’s free 123D software, which cuts out complicated engineering tools to leave a user friendly program for modelers and builders.  Appealing to the open source nature of the DIY crowd, 123D also links to free solid and mesh models and facilitates direct output to partner printers, where you can have your designs translated into physical form.

Popular printing businesses include Shapeways and Ponoko (whose App Gateway features 123D and other software), as well as the 3D model store, Thingiverse.  They can reproduce your designs in high resolution prints in a variety of materials, including plastic, glass, ceramic, stainless steel, and sterling silver, and gold plated (printed stainless steel infused with bronze then gold plated).  If you are a real do-it-yourselfer, you may want to look into the ever popular MakerBot.  With it’s Frostruder attachment, the MakerBot has the potential to print with any form of metal clay paste.

If you have an iPhone, don’t miss Trimensional.  The first iPhone 3D scanner app goes for just 99 cents.  Not merely a novelty, this structured light scanner functions by using the front camera of the phone along with “flashes” from sequential corners of the screen.  It’s not perfect but creates models featuring points, polygons, and  wire meshes.  Trimensional saves to 3 file formats and can be exported to a 3D printer or CAD software.  Here’s what happened when I pointed it at my face:

Here is the wireframe version of the same scan:

There are of course a few iphone CAD options as well, notably iDough, which is easy to use, features an intuitive clay-like modeling interface, and saves to a 3D printable obj. file.  Here are a couple images of models that I whipped together:

 

• The MakerBot 3D Scanner is a structured light scanner that works with an iPhone or a webcam.
• The MakerScanner is a 3D laser scanner built with parts printed on the MakerBot.
• This 3D laser scanner is built with Legos.
• This desktop factory built from Legos allows you to injection mold your own Legos.
• The eMAKER Huxley 3D printer is a Replicating Rapid prototyping machine, or RepRap for short.  Kit’s sell for about $500 and can be used to print the parts necessary to build more printers.

If you are not convinced that desktop manufacturing is here for real, check out MakerBot founder Bre Pettis on the Colbert Report and this White House report on 3D printers that recommends among other things:

1. Put a personal manufacturing lab in every school
2. Offer teacher education in basic design and manufacturing technologies in relation to STEM education
3. Create high quality, modular curriculum with optional manufacturing components
4. Enhance after school learning to involve design and manufacturing.

Giveaway of great Lark Jewelry & Beading books! « Lark Crafts.

If that seems high tech, then have a look at this video on Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).

The challenge to creating functioning base metal clays is preventing the metal from oxidizing during firing. The solution is to fire in an oxygen reduced atmosphere, which can be created by embedding clay items in a firing container filled with activated carbon.

The latest success in that direction has been the successful mixing and firing of sterling silver metal clay. Sterling silver, prized for its beauty and strength was one of the last holdouts, not the least because of the precision with which it must be mixed. To be stamped and assayed as sterling silver, the metal must be exactly 92.5% silver, with the remaining 7.5% usually consisting of copper, but often improved upon with the partial substitution of other metals.

Lisa Cain, Director of the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery in England has announced that she and her staff have successfully formulated and fired sterling clays composed of commercially available fine silver and copper clays.   An account of their experiences is published in the April issue of Metal Clay Artist Magazine.

Hadar Jacobsen for her part has also published her experiences successfully mixing sterling silver clay.  Congratulations to both and many thanks for their efforts moving this exciting field forward.

Here’s a look at the work in progress:

The parts were individually sculpted, then assembled around a wood and steel armature.

Here’s what the finished product looked like.

This set went to the Fuller Craft Museum for exhibition.

Here is a look at the first ever toy raygun:

Here is the current home of two of the rayguns on the San Francisco Waterfront.  The rocketship is all locked up, along with her precious cargo, (rayguns and all), so you will have to appreciate the rayguns here for the time being.  Visit the Raygun Gothic Rocketship in San Francisco till October 2011.

Here’s a fine silver (pmc) and polymer piece from about 2003:

If you like the old cover (or just covet a hardback) you should buy now, as the hardback edition is timed to sell out just as the paperback arrives.

If you have the book already and have found the numerous unusual techniques and original artwork to be inspirational, please take a moment to “like” the new facebook page dedicated to the book and associated information and imagery. Even better, give me a reviewon Amazon.

I’m happy to announce that I will be teaching my Recursive Beads workshop at Polymer Clay and Creative Arts Fest 2010. Registration for the event, due to take place Oct 21-24 in Wausau WI, is open till October 10th. Other instructors include Nan Roche, Jeffrey Lloyd Dever, Torrey Hughes, and more. The registration fee (which is very reasonable) includes a four hour workshop with each of the 6 instructors.

With one month to go till the conference I may even squeeze some new work out of the studio. Sign up now as spaces are filling!

We highly recommend public transportation, as parking can take a very long time. Caltrain is only a ten minute walk from the San Mateo Fairgrounds.

Here is a set of photos I shot at NASA Aimes Research Center, where we recently installed the rocketship for Yuri’s Night, 2010.  The two day event took place on the tarmac, amid blimp hangers, aerial observatories, and test jets.  Performers included the Black Keys, Common, Beats Antique, and Les Claypool.  I missed the party itself, but was fortunate enough to join the crew for the installation.  Scroll down for more, including a time-lapse video of the installation from Almost Scientific, as well as galleries from the inaugural show of Five Ton Crane.

People always ask “how did it get here?” We tell them it flew. Actually, it comes apart into several sections, which you can see come together in this timelapse from Almost Scientific.

How to assemble a Raygun Gothic Rocketship from Almost Scientific on Vimeo.

Happy happy:

Dr. Rorie’s digital slr beats my iphone any day of the week, and he is a skilled photographer too. Check out this gorgeous set from NASA:

Pew! Pew! It’s a blast to the past… here are a few shots from the Five Ton Crane show at Warehouse 416: Thanks to SeanO and Almost Scientific for these.

via

The Five Ton Crane Arts Group proudly announces…!
the historic, permanent installation of…!
the beloved Steampunk Tree House!

This iconic, fully immersive work of art was the first epic creation by the Oakland based arts group Five Ton Crane. First exhibited at the 2007 Burning Man festival in Nevada, it went on to capture imaginations all over the world!

This June 2010 the Tree House will plant it’s permanent roots on the East Coast. Visitors can once again clamber up the trunk, peer through the spyglass, look out over the balcony, work the brass levers of the Triaparator, flap the kinetic wings of the vulture and wonder at the story behind this mysterious habitation that they have stumbled upon.

This is the first time in the history of Burning Man that a large-scale sculpture of this type, originally funded for the playa, has been permanently installed … anywhere!

But… this historic event will not happen without your help!

To acknowledge your generous support, the 5TC Crew have created a series of custom gifts for you to remember us by:

• $5 – Your own small, sharp, round, and easily attached piece of  Steampunk Tree House memorabilia, designed by our own Snarky McF*ckbutton.

• $25 – The Tree House, in addition to being wired for digital sound (and plumbed for steam sound) has its own soundtrack. Did you know? Own the CD… created by our very own Nick Winterhalter.

• $50 – The Tree House t-shirts, 100% cotton. Lovely, sturdy, simple. Hides grease stains exceptionally well (and we should know).

• $150 – Branch pendant designed by 5TC crew member and professional jewelry designer Bonnie Heras, and made out of discarded metal from the Tree House’s reconstruction.

• $175 – Laser-etched Tree House pin designed and built by artist Max Chen.

• $200 – Limited edition print of the enigmatic portrait of an unknown adventurer created by artist and crew member Leslie Frierman Grunditz. The original still hangs on the Tree House’s walls. You can look on yours and speculate as to who else in the world is looking at the same mysterious gentleman at that very moment.

• $250 -  Limited edition Tree House T-shirt, and one of the aforementioned pins or pendants.

• $2,500 -Your name cast in bronze on our donor wall inside the Tree House for future archaeologists to find and marvel over.

• $5000 -Your name cast in bronze on our donor wall inside the Tree House for future archaeologists to find and marvel over.
- All of the above

• $10,000 – A romantic catered dinner in the Tree House after it is permanently installed for you and a friend, with artist Sean Orlandoas your waiter.
- Round trip flights to the East Coast
- Overnight accommodations
- Ground transportation to and from the Tree House
- Your name cast in bronze on our donor wall inside the Tree House
- All of the above

What will you be supporting?

Your donations will insure this iconic sculpture finds it’s permanent place in the history of Public Art.

•Major structural sections of the SPTH must be redesigned and rebuilt to insure it can withstand the hardships of east-coast weather! Our crew is already building a new roof, making the structure water-tight, and otherwise guaranteeing that this thing is still standing when the apes take over the world.

• Our East Coast destination is a long way from our Oakland studio!

• Several major artistic components need significant refurbishment!

• Facility and heavy equipment rentals

• Raw materials and welding consumables

• Precision fabrications of key structural components

• Restoring major artistic components created by  Alan Rorie, Max Chen, Leslie Grunditz, Jamie Vaida, Torreya Cummings and Nathaniel Taylor

• New doors and windows created by Colin Babcock and Andrew O’keefe

• New roof by Max Chen, Alan Rorie & Sean Orlando

• New spiral staircase designed by Sean Orlando & Jamie Vaida to connect with the auxiliary balcony

• Packaging and shipping of a 40+ foot steel sculpture and countless delicate artworks

• Crew to travel out to the east coast to support the installation

Other ways to donate

So… you live across the country, across the world, perhaps even in a different dimension, perhaps even near a far flung BART stop?

No worries, you can still assist the Steampunk Tree House. Huzzah!

Employee Matching Funds

Your employer might have a program in place that could double or triple your gift. Inquiring with the person who handles your company’s philanthropic efforts displays the sort of inquisitiveness and attention to detail that is essential in a space hero.

In-Kind Donations

The Steampunk Tree House is the offspring of countless individuals, businesses, and philanthropic institutions who have contributed essential goods to our missions: forged steel, gear driven vultures, and the finest in time machine prototypes, to name a few. If you have something that you would consider donating, please contact us and we will evaluate how to best use it. We guarantee that it will be used boldly and creatively to further the progress of science and human knowledge.

More on Donations

We use Pay Pal, but you will not need a Pay Pal account to make a donation through our site. Credit cards will work marvelously. If you have any questions, please contact us. Our crew is always delighted to hear from individuals eager to assist the Steampunk Tree House in her exploits.

About

The Steampunk Tree House is built of recycled wood, clockwork components and steel, styled after the worlds of early, handbuilt technology described by H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne. It was designed to spark the imagination, rather than to route it along a predetermined path.

The Tree House has, at various times, been seen as a statement about nature, industrialization, childhood, environmentalism and the Victorian era. We’ve always preferred to let each person who passed through it make up their own story about what the tree is and how it came to be there. It was built by a crew of 60+ volunteers –  engineers, artists, schoolteachers, and everything in between.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.

Help the Steampunk Tree House put roots down!

“Join us Friday, March 5th, from 6-10pm for our first ever group show at Warehouse416.

We will be displaying works from the Five Ton Crane crew, with signature pieces from The Raygun Gothic Rockethship and The Steampunk Tree House.

This is our first ever public event. Please join us in celebrating the work of an amazing group of friends and artists.

We’ve also got a special guest, Nicole Catrett, from The Exploratorium, showing her TiltShift-O-Scope and Strobe-O-Scopes!

And if you’re hungry there will be some really delicious falafel from Liba Falafel Truck(Yummmmmmmmm).

In the market for that special little octopus for that special little someone?
Come and check out the unique stuffed artistry of Dorklandia.

The show is at 416 26th Street, Oakland, (Betw.Telegraph and Broadway)

with DJ Patti Cakes

View Larger Map

Featuring:

Molly Reichert

Colleen Paz

Jay Kravitz

Ake Grunditz

Leslie Grunditz

David Shulman

Almost Scientific

Ben Carpenter

Tom Sepe

Max Chen

Maurice Cavness

Jody medich

Colin Babcock

Jo Slota

Nathaniel Taylor

Sean Orlando

Don Hayler

Nicole Catrett

Angela Scrivani

Elwyn Crawford

Grant Diffendaffer

“

There has been a lot of media coverage of the rocketship and I wanted to see a few of my favorite things in one place.  Starting with photos, here are some doozies.  Stay tuned for excellent video later in the post.

by Garbero Photography

image by loupiote.com

Image by Tory Fink

Image by Nick Winterhalter

Hats off to Sean Donnelly for producing this amazing documentary on the creation of the rocket.  It truly does justice to an amazing crew and project.  Part of the film ran in Donnelly’s two part series for the Oakland Tribune.

Blast Off! from Sean Donnelly on Vimeo.

Here is a video that appeared on Time.com

Here is a Flickr slideshow combining the photos of many photographers:

At last, raw launch footage.  The first is a bit higher quality but shorter.  For full ragged glory, see the last, by Barbara Fried.

My photo sets are here.  Here’s a slideshow from my photostream:

Part of the beauty of the process is the way that the textures are created and imparted to the beads.  First, I make plates, which I treat both raw and cured. When raw, I imprint the clay with simple implements in a repetitive fashion.  After curing, I carve the plate.  With a library of these tools, I need only properly layer colored clay over my core beads, and I am able to pull a whole galaxy of differing beads off a single plate.

Some detail treatment, sanding, and polishing, and I have a little box full of joy to remind me why I love this process so much, and propel me into the next challenge.

I’ve posted five pairs on Etsy, and there are more to come.

Available from GrantDiffendaffer on Etsy

Available from GrantDiffendaffer on Etsy

Available from GrantDiffendaffer on Etsy

Available from GrantDiffendaffer on Etsy

Available from GrantDiffendaffer on Etsy

It’s a great way to get the wheels turning again.  Starting with a process that resembles nothing so much as doodling, I end up with refined and elegant beads.  If this interests you, check out my book, Polymer Clay Beads.  Or take a workshop.

Many thanks to the brave and dedicated crew!  They said it couldn’t be done.  They said it would end in fiery disaster.  It did.  Fantastic!

Here are a few shots I snapped of the rocket installation at Black Rock City, in which I was fortunate enough to include two of my rayguns and two bronze pennants.  I can’t say what an honor it was to be a small part of such a huge handmade project, and what a privilege it is to count among it’s makers many close friends.  This is what happens when diverse talents are allowed to cooperate to the mutual good.

 

If you would like to see my rayguns in person, they are on display at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton MA until November 8th, 2009.

Image gallery here:

rayguns

10 Photos

 

And now to spend some time with that other raygun thingy, the Raygun Gothic Rocket.

I’ve always felt supported by my friends and students in Philly, and I like to support them back. Guild members will have the opportunity to bid on the following recursive bead pendant, which I have donated for the upcoming guild fundraiser. Just my way of saying thank you. See you soon!

I feel very privileged to be returning to the land of my ancestors (seriously–look at the map). I have one final weekend to put my affairs in order here before I fly to Zurich to debut my Recursive Beads workshop in Liechtenstein.

View Dubendorf in a larger map

Photo by Nick Winterhalter

Some of the pennants are fantastically crafted, with very convincing and beautiful bas reliefs.  Others are somewhat more crude, but I love them just as much.  There is something endearing about seeing the mark of the maker on a handcrafted medallion that was designed to refer to the highest ideals of our civilization as it was carried into outer space.

I’m starting to play around with some bronze clay, and I’m thinking that these pieces will make great source material for a few medallions.  It would take me a long long time to approach the bas relief skills displayed on some of these pieces, so I’ll start with a flat relief approach, modifying as I develop my technique to try and add a bit more layered depth.

One last note on metal clay, then the pics.  I just noticed as I write this post that Copper Clay is due to reach the market in just 4 days.  You can pre-order now.

Still waiting for your flying car?

Ready to escape earth for your dream home in outer space?

Stars:

It’s where fact meets theory meets art:

Where the sublime and frightening beauty of outer space meets action, adventure, and stylish spacesuits:

Only among lustrous tomes like this 1926 Amazing Stories will you find the likes of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allen Poe all sharing a cover with ice skating space monkeys of Titan:

Did I mention skin tight space suits?

But of course, I’m mostly interested in building rockets:

On that note, your astro dollar donations to the Raygun Gothic Rocket are now tax deductible (much thanks to The Crucible for agreeing to be our fiscal sponsor).  So C’mon!  Help an earthling catch a rocket home!

Cuz even this stuff costs money:

Much thanks to Dark Roasted Blend for the link.  If you liked this stuff, check out their posts on futurism.

Looking back to that time of innocent future vision I am  drawn to re-examine these pieces by Dan Cormier.  Beautifully crafted, colorful, and personal, they remind me of my childhood and make me yearn for the life of astral leisure once held forth as the promise of tomorrow.  Is it something that only a child could believe in now?

Fiji Mermaid 2000

Astronaut Inro: Self Portrait

I just got an email from Canadian Cormier, who reports a successful and enjoyable month long teaching trip to the Southeastern U.S., where he taught eight polymer clay workshops in five cites.  He sends this photo of his son Griffin watching a launch of the Space Shuttle from the comfort of the beach in front of their hotel.  It all comes full circle.  

See more of Dan’s work on his website, as well as in my book.