Laser Cutting Archives - Sprigs and Brides

March 18, 2020July 2, 2020

Steps to the final lacelightbox

The largest Lacelightbox was made and delivered to my studio in early May 2020

Strips of self adhesive LEDs on biodegradable foamboard for inside the lacelightbox

Trialling embroidery on net with the perspex and LEDs

I tried just using text on net inside the box (above)but it needed the laser cut card give hard shadows. So I commissioned Handytech to make the laser cut after much backwards and forwards where I learned my understanding of Illustrator wasn’t up to much.

I made the embroidered picot onto cotton bobbinet from Swiss Tulle (see this post for more detail) while waiting for the laser cut . Click on the gallery below to see the construction step by step

A picture of an artist studio — After putting the laser cut Charnia and suspending the embroidery on net, I had to peel off the protective film from the frosted perspex. Once done, it’s prone to scratching so I had to work fast and gently!

A mulitcoloured light box — The lightbox before putting the frosted perspex in place. The box is so big I had to place it on the floor to assemble, and slide the perspex in place before hanging on the french cleat. Everything had to be very secure before it was hung!

woodworking tools — I glued and clamped the bracket overnight so it was secure

Net Curtain pole — Screws in the end of the pole slotted into a simple bracket on the inside of the box

Making a net curtain pole — The embroidered layer was suspended from a simple pole. I hand stitched the net to the pole, using a simple over stitch. It was the easiest way to reduce puckering

Once pieced, I attached the laser cut to the foamboard backing, using upholstery pins. The lightbox was lined with biodegradable foam board, to which I attached the LED light strips (4x5m strips). The pins are 5cm long, so held the laser cut away from the lights.

Piecing together out the Charnia laser cut. I used paper tape to hold it together at certain sections, but securing it into the frame with T pins held everything in place

a picture of a laser cut interpretation of Charnia Masoni — Laying out the Charnia laser cut. It had been cut in sections to fit the flat bed laser cutter.

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The lacelightbox in action

July 20, 2019June 26, 2020

Lighting ideas

I’ve been exhibiting in Karlsruhe, Germany for almost ten years now. I was invited to join a group exhibition by the GEDOK group in summer 2019. I showed two new lampshade designs, incorporating my laser cut design and LED lights. You can see the lampshades in the gallery below

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The blue version had a holographic insert which distorted the lights inside, the gold was simply cut silk. This, combined with a large filament lightbulb, was really eyecatching. I found it distracting that you could see the inside, so if I were to repeat the design I would bond silk to both sides of the stiffening.

The blue lampshade twinkled (see the video below)

I was supposed to travel to Karlsruhe with the work and install it myself. However, I didn’t make it to Germany as my Mum had a stroke the weekend before I was due to leave. I decided to stay at home with her instead. Luckily my fellow artists were up for a challenge and put the whole display together for me. It meant I had to design some step by step instructions for putting the light together. They did a fantastic job!

The lampshades on exhibition in Karlsruhe July 2019, image supplied by GEDOK Karlsruhe

I used the waste from the laser cut to make a wall art piece. See the gallery below for more information on how it worked

Using laser cut waste, a simple idea to use pieces of silk waste from the lampshade

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January 22, 2019July 2, 2020

Laser cutting

Sailing the sea of #sketchbookwoes, I found myself spending a lot of time in the laser room with Sue Turton. After a basic intro into what the laser may be capable of, I was fascinated by what I could do, not just through cutting but using a low powered laser to engrave or etch on the surface of the material.

laser engrave — Laser engrave on tracing paper is one of my favourite effects

laser cut — Laser engrave test on papyrus

laser engrave silk — Laser engrave on silk is very pretty but severely weakens the fabric

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The university has a number of flatbed lasers for cutting but one large Grafixscan machine which can be used to engrave all kinds of materials. the construction of the machine meant the base material did not have to be totally flat or thin, and the Grafixscan was super fast, producing engraved samples in minutes or even seconds.

It could engrave areas from a jpeg or (which I preferred) lines of less that a millimetre from a vector file. These lines to me were as the bobbin thread in a lace machine, fine as hair. I imagined ways of using this to engrave a ‘net’ ground on which to embroider. As it happened I didn’t go down this line, but at least it gave me an avenue to investigate while I got my sketch on.

You can just hear my gasp of delight…