Properties & Qualities
Application
Art Sample Making
Qualities
3D Textured
Colour
Blue Violet White
Sample Information
Date of creation
Designed and made April 2021.
Dimensions
Width 20cm x Height 20cm x Depth 5mm
Weight
41g
Culture & Context
This sample is inspired by bees incredible ability to see the world through UV (ultra violet) vision. They see the world in a different way to us opening the bees up to
seeing hidden UV patterns on flowers and throughout nature. As well as looking at how bees see the world I also dived into the anatomy of their eyes and the thousands of tiny hexagonal lenses that make up their eye. Influenced by this structure the low relief embellishments were designed to look like many small hexagonal tubes that made up one hexagon, that was then repeated. This pattern is similar to the structure of the bees eyes when sliced in half to see the inside (diagram).
Process & Production
The process of this material was firstly hand weaving the mockleno weave on an 8 shaft handloom using the iridescent and grillon yarns. Once the weaving is finished and the sample is off the loom it was sewn to secure edges before moving onto the 3D printed elements. The 3D printed design was created using the Rhinoceros 3D modelling software and then printed using a 3D printer. The first two layers of the design were printed on the base of the printing bed, the printer was then paused and the mockleno woven fabric was taped on top. The printer was then resumed and it continued to print on top of the fabric seeping through the mesh gaps in the fabric when wet and bonds to the first few layers of filament printed trapping the fabric between. For this particular sample the grillon yarn melts with heat and acts like a slight glue for the 3D printing filament to adhere to as well as the first few layers printed. This acts as extra support for the embellishments.
Recipe Details
Weaving done on an 8 shaft handloom using a mockleno weave structure.
The 3D printer used to produce this sample was a Prusa i3 Mk 2.5s.
The extruder is set at 215/210c.
The print bed is set at no heat.
2 layers are printed first before adding the textile on top to continue printing.
Credits
Craft Maker
Amy Kerr (AK Textiles)
Library Contributor
National College of Art & Design Ireland
Photographer
Amy Kerr