A Blast From The Past

Do you know what a Fab Lab is? No, let me tell you ... a Fab Lab ("digital fabrication laboratory") is a place that allows anyone to pop in and create a thing. Any thing. They are chock full of 3D printers, laser cutters, heat presses, vinyl cutters, and all manner of tools to use. Most importantly though they have people that can help you use them, guide you in getting your thing created, and give you tips and techniques to get the best out of your own projects. They have a huge leaving towards supporting local communities, and educating the young 'uns (but oldies are absolutely welcome). So that's what a Fab Lab is, and for us in the bottom of the North Island we have Fab Lab Masterton ... it rocks! Currently they are open for drop-ins on Friday afternoons, no booking required, at 44 Queen Street, Masterton

Oh this glass sculpture of Kate Sheppard at the NZ National Library is sumptuous. The green, the light, the different angles, and everything about it makes my insides smile. Her sculpture currently stands on Te Ahumairangi, the ground floor of the Library's Molesworth St building. The result of a petition to Parliament on behalf of the Women's Refuge, commissioned by Saatchi and realised by Propellor Studios. Making Kate There aren't many photos of Kate available, so creating her form in 3D took some extrapolation and imagination. Sketched up by Hamish Fraser in Zbrush, the model was then sliced into hundreds of layers. 351 flat shapes were then cut out of the country's entire available stock of glass-edge acrylic, a material lighter than regular plate glass and the source of the statue's wonderful sea-green colour. Each sheet was etched with the 2,616 names and messages of the petition's signatories, and stacked on a stainless steel 'spine'. A base

Mike Riversdale

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A Blast From The Past

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