Lecturer combines love of computing, creating

When his son was about 6 years previous, Mark Meier made a ceramic bust of him that didn’t go over nicely.

“He was very sad with the colour of the floor I selected. He began crying so I redid it and adjusted the colour,” stated Meier, lecturer II in structure within the A. Alfred Taubman Faculty of Structure and City Planning.

Creating items of artwork — and the trial and error that comes with it — drives and conjures up Meier, who builds furnishings, sculpts ceramics and explores his expansive curiosity by way of digital means.

Meier estimates he’s constructed about 60 items of furnishings previously 20 years and tons of of ceramic items previously 5 years. His design observe revolves round digital fabrication, scripted geometric modeling, furnishings fabrication and digital sculpting.

The mixture of making and pc programming speaks to Meier.

“I benefit from the technique of producing 3D type within the pc.” he stated. “Within the Nineteen Eighties, the structure faculty had some revolutionary, very early pc software program for doing that. I used to be in a position to take courses in programming 3D geometry. U-M was an amazing place to review that.

“It’s improbable to now take it additional with the power for these fashions to regulate the place the machine cuts. We will immediately extract curves and surfaces for the machines to comply with. It’s significantly useful when you possibly can program that. I’m actually occupied with computational geometry and having the ability to generate type by way of code, and having the ability to drive the machines is tremendous thrilling to me.”

He may by no means have discovered of U-M’s capabilities in that realm if he wasn’t listening to Nationwide Public Radio someday a little bit over a decade in the past. He heard an interview with Karl Daubmann, the primary director of the Digital Fabrication Lab, or FABLab, at Taubman Faculty and was hooked.

He enrolled at Taubman as a non-degree, non-credit pupil in 2010 after which accomplished a second grasp’s diploma program in digital know-how the next yr earlier than being requested to hitch the college.

“I’m actually glad I came upon in regards to the FABLab, as a result of it was the right place to mix my pursuits in 3D type, programming and making,” he stated. “Having the ability to spend the final decade studying about that and educating it and sharing what I do know with college students has been an actual pleasure.”

Meier stated he can hint his artwork background to rising up in Bloomfield Hills and taking courses at Cranbrook Academy of Artwork and the Birmingham Bloomfield Artwork Heart.

“That was an amazing setting for studying about all completely different sorts of artwork,” he stated. “I can keep in mind casting aluminum as a child. We had some nice services and lecturers there. I’ve all the time been occupied with artwork, however there have been occasions in my profession when the making was digital reasonably than bodily.”

He taught pc animation on the Penny W. Stamps Faculty of Artwork & Design for a number of years within the early Nineties earlier than working in structure after which pc animation software program improvement. Then he discovered in regards to the FABLab the place his passions may very well be mixed.

Meier stated one in every of his favourite items he’s constructed was a desk he designed for his digital know-how diploma remaining challenge. The desk contains a curve referred to as a torus knot and is definitely 30 completely different elements that dovetail collectively to type a steady loop.

“The college had simply acquired a five-axis router. I took a category in utilizing it, and I believed it might reduce elements that curve by way of house in a approach that I couldn’t produce by way of standard woodworking,” he stated.

“I discovered a solution to reduce the complicated joinery and wrote the code to generate the shape and the elements. Then I programmed the router to chop them.”

He offered the primary of these tables he made however constructed one other, smaller model that sits in his front room. Meier stated he has constructed completely different sorts of beds, tables and chairs out of varied varieties of wooden — walnut and white oak are his favorites — and numerous lamps, lighting fixtures and ceramic cups, vases and candlestick holders.

“I really like wooden. That’s what I’m actually into. However I’ve come to understand ceramics, as a result of I can provide you with an thought and understand it so rapidly, which is interesting,” he stated.

One of many extra time-consuming however rewarding items Meier created was a bust of his son, Kirk, manufactured from poplar from a 3D scan of his face that Meier took when Kirk was 11. He estimates he spent about 40 hours whole between programming the machine to chop the wooden, revising the device paths when it failed and cleansing up the piece.

He stated the latter — which concerned sanding and smoothing the bust by hand — took about 20 hours.

This time, his son didn’t shed tears when he noticed the ultimate product.

“I feel it got here out very well,” he stated. “I’ve it displayed in our home and I’m very proud of it. And I do know he was happy with the likeness.”

Q&A

What memorable second within the office stands out?  

Considered one of my first duties after I got here again to Michigan in 2011 was serving to the structure faculty dean with an exhibition referred to as Photoformance proven on the College Museum of Artwork. I actually loved utilizing my programming abilities to allow them to mannequin, fabricate and assemble that set up. 

What can’t you reside with out?  

Artwork. And designing and fabricating utilizing pc pushed instruments and customized software program. 

Title your favourite spot on campus.  

The Wave Area on North Campus designed by Maya Lin.

What conjures up you? 

Seeing the work of artists whose items have a really unfastened really feel however have that “it” issue that makes them appear precisely proper. 

What are you at the moment studying? 

“Too Huge for a Single Thoughts” by Tobias Hurter.

Who had the best affect in your profession path?

Gary Yost, the visionary founding father of the Yost Group, builders of the pc animation software program 3ds max. I used to be working at a design agency on the time, and he recruited me away to hitch his software program improvement staff. Taking that leap confirmed me the rewards of taking dangers, and that has allowed me to pursue my pursuits all through my profession together with my ceramics analysis, educating myself woodworking, and lecturing at U-M. 

Tags: