Jared recently posted images of his miniature sculptures in the ‘Projects Showcase’ area of our Community.
We were so impressed with the sculptures we wanted to find out more about him, his process and how he was using the Emblaser to create these stunning artworks.
Darkly:
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you became involved creating miniature sculptures?
Jared:
I’ve been drawing, painting and making things since i was a child. My father and his two brothers were the same so i grew up in a creative environment and learned quite young about a variety of tools and methods of using them to make interesting things. I built houses for quite a few years but have always had an interest in smaller miniature creations. I’ve dabbled in all the arts but three dimensional things are my main love. I did take a couple of years off working to go to art school, specialising in sculpture, many of them small. The past twenty four years I’ve had a successful sign business in my small community. The computer for design is a very important part of my work so designing with it and having it run a plotter made it easy to work with the laser for the little miniatures I’m venturing into more now. I just turned 70 so I’m looking to retire from the sign business and concentrate on the purer artistic creations. They’re quite popular so I think it’ll be fairly easy to transition. When I went to art school (thirty five years ago) my “thesis” was Shelter … an exploration of various vernacular building styles incorporated into one piece. Little buildings fascinate me.
Darkly:
How much time goes into creating a sculpture?
Jared:
The time varies a lot on the size and complexity of the pieces I make. Many hours can be spent just getting an idea turned into a design ready for the laser.
Darkly:
Which sculpture has been the most involved/complicated and why?
Jared:
I suppose so far the picture I posted of all the little buildings on the piece of driftwood has been the longest. I just completed it after a years work, but that wasn’t an 8 hours a day type of thing. It was on my workbench for a year and I’d spend an hour or two now and then as my other work and life permitted. There was no real plan for it. It might have equalled about three weeks steady work. I had started the bottom “wharf” part and had that done when I decided to get the emblaser which helped produce the doors, windows, stairs and various little building bits. It progressed slowly rising upward.
Darkly:
How has the Emblaser helped your sculpting process?
Jared:
Trying to produce tiny little things to build with is darned difficult by hand. I had bought a few sheets of laser cut little building parts from Model Railroad hobby suppliers and knew I had to get a laser of my own. I’d looked at all the higher priced CO2 lasers and their much cheaper Chinese counterparts but finding the emblaser looked like a good start. I’m happy with it for now as I’m not using it for high production. Perhaps if I hit the big time with the art projects I’ll invest in something more powerful and faster.
Darkly:
What is the next project you are / will be working on?
Jared:
I’ve got drawings and plans underway and completed for more boats (another love), a couple of HO scale work fishing boats, Ernest Hemingway’s sport fishing boat “Pilar”, a houseboat and a couple more smaller powerboat models. I live on a small island (population 5,000) so there are beaches all around. I have a good collection of driftwood pieces I intend to use in similar sculptures to the one I posted pictures of. I’m working towards an art show titled “Waterfront Dreams”. I have one started on my workbench right now that I’m attempting to put tiny LED light inside, which sort of have to be installed as the work progresses. The sign business and other things keep getting in the way though and inspirational flashes frequently take me off onto other little projects. I’ll get an inspiration for a type of structure or some building details I’ll use at a later date and that usually leads to hours designing on the computer.
We want to thank Jared for taking the time to chat with us and share his artwork.
The Darkly Labs Team
