Before I begin, and in order for my project to make any sense at all, please watch this video:
Here is a link to the video and a deeper explanation of the program on the Smithsonian’s website.
When I was working as a science photographer I became involved in this global initiative using these structures to document cryptic species and measure the health of the ocean across the globe. So, when we were asked to make our first project on the laser cutter, obviously I had to make a tiny one for my home aquarium. I should also mention that the scuba diving gentlemen in the video’s poster frame was one of my references for ITP oddly enough. Also, my wife, Marina, is the narrator in this film.
This is a real ARMS that I photographed in my kitchen in Brooklyn:
This week were tasked with using the laser cutter for the first time. We use Illustrator files for the laser cutter. I hate Illustrator. I’ve logged probably 10,000 of hours of Photoshop, but every time the chance to do something in Illustrator has come up, I avoided it like the plague. It finally caught up with me. I had to use it. My classmate, Rachel Carrico helped tremendously as I stumbled my way through it. In the end, I succeeded.
In order to recreate an ARMS in miniature I had to use two thicknesses of acrylic. Click here for the link from Canal Plastic. When I started I figured I would make the plates 2.5” wide, because I liked that size. But then I realized that the proportion and size of the miniature would be entirely dependent on the thickness of my materials. So, in order to make enough plates out of 1/8” and 1/4” plastic, the structure would be 3 1/8” tall. So, because the ARMS themselves are slightly less than cubical, I made the plates 3.25” across.
A miniature ARMS made from laser cut acrylic
An actual ARMS next to my new laser-cut miniature
This aquarium (that my wife bought for my birthday) will be the new home for my miniature ARMS