I taught a digital fabrication workshop this past week. I had a great class that was full of excited students. We covered drawing in Rhino, 3D scanning, laser cutting, 3D printing, and vinyl cutting. Students were able to learn what they needed to become proficient at Rhino and then they could create a design to use in the creation of a wood iPhone case. They also used the Sense scanner to capture a self portrait and then they were able to use this scan to learn about mesh booleans when they created a base for their self portrait. We printed several of these "heads". I also covered creating rings in Rhino and several people were able to model and print a ring or two (although I don't have pics of any of these). I was very impressed with everyone's ability to go from zero digital knowledge to banging out work within the week. The group spanned all ages and abilities with my youngest participant being a soon to be eighth grader, Maddie (who was stellar at Rhino by weeks end and also happens to live down the street from me) as well as Tedd and Becky McDonah (fellow Metalsmith's from Pennsylvania). It was excellent to connect with Tedd and Becky, as I was not able to meet them at the Phoenix SNAG conference (that they planned and hosted) when Jill and I were there with the kids. I think Tedd and Becky must be two of the nicest people I have ever met. I believe that Tedd and I grew up with similar childhood experiences from the sound of things. They were so kind to leave me with one of Tedd's custom t-shirts and one of Becky's pins. So kind of them both.
I am a bit sad that I didn't get more pictures of the work that was made, as I was busy the last two days trying to help everyone out. Regardless, it was a great experience and I was able to get my feet wet again after being away from teaching for a while!
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