Small But Perfectly Formed is an opportunity for me  to develop art works through making.  Sketching, both literally by making marks and cuts on paper, and by building test 3-D objects, has been something I have not done consistently until recently.  In the past I have tended to research a theme or place, develop a proposal based on that research, apply for funding; and make the work almost exactly as I had defined it in the original proposal.  Whilst I am comfortable doing this, I really want to expand the way that I work, and to learn how to make art works that come into being as a result of working directly with materials.  I see the use of new technologies such as those described previously (3-D modeling, and cutting, rapid prototyping, laser cutting, and computer routing), all as valid tools for me to utilise to sketch and develop art works through making. 

Ideas. I propose to make a series of two and three-dimensional works by developing a broader range of 3D trees and 3D structures based on the human heart, using rapid prototyping.  I will explore the use of laser cutting to make series of pieces, where shapes are cut from books, from my own photographs, and from printed ephemera. 

I will bring together my two- and three-dimensional ‘thinking’ about structure by making a series of sliced form objects: these are 3D objects made from 2D slices.  The slices can be made by producing a 3D computer model, taking a series of two-dimensional slices from that model, cutting those slices using a computer driven laser router; and then reassembling two-dimensional slices to produce three-dimensional objects.  This approach was used by Buckminster Fuller to explore and describe three-dimensional objects and volumes. I have prepared a series of hand-cut slice forms, as sketches for this work.

New skills. To date I have made five rapid prototyped (RP) objects, and gained insights from this experience. I now want to improve and expand the way I use this new process. My three tree objects were made directly from computer data, from tree structures generated using fractal mathematics. I want to explore making different types of structures from fractal data. I made two heart objects from MRI data (from Papworth Heart Transplant Unit) and experimented by silver plating one of them. I would now like to use newly available MRI data which has a very high level of detail, to make new heart objects, and experiment with different materials to coat the polymer after the RP process.

Processes: I have introductory-level experience of 3-D modeling, laser cutting, computer-controlled etching, and want to develop ideas for artworks by ‘doing’, by using these processes rather than by thinking and sketching ideas. Part of my research and development will entail consulting with  expert's, drawing and sketching, to become familiar with new processes and techniques.

3-D awareness: I have much to learn about the production of ‘real’ 3D objects from digital data, and how to make such art objects succeed as exhibitable pieces. Part of my residency will be spent researching by visiting museums and galleries and talking to experts about the display of small objects.