This first group of images shows St Patrick’s Cathedral in Urbana, IL.  When this job came up for bid, the shop where I worked at the time had bid only on the casework for the classrooms and offices in the addition.  The general contractor was still looking for someone who could replicate the artistic elements in the project.  My employer asked me if I thought I could do it.  To which I replied, “Yes.”  And before I knew it, I was tasked with replicating the ornate items from the church’s original design.

All of the gold capitols and bases you see on the columns and arches are my doing.  The cross placards, rosettes, and transition blocks were also my doing.  When originally planning out the task, I had planned to make silicone molds of the original wood carvings and then cast replicas in plaster.  However, as the planning developed further, the decision was made to 3D print the replicas instead.  So I sat down with calipers in hand to begin the tedious task of measuring and drawing up replicas.  Slight modifications were made to the original geometry in order to harmonize well with the FDM print process, and due to the larger size of the prints, much engineering went into the internal structures of the prints to minimize the warping inherent to the ABS filament used.  Thus began my journey into 3D printing, and I have loved it ever since.

An acquaintance of mine had an idea for a unique snare drum concept, and commissioned me to help him bring it to life.  As of October 4, 2022, this project is ongoing.  Words would be too lengthy to describe this process in detail, but I have been documenting it with video, and when complete, I will post the video of the build process.

A youth theater group was performing a play based on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and some of the community members were acquaintances of mine.  They knew my skillset and asked if I would create a replica of King Aragorn's crown.  If I was making it for a film production, I would have sculpted it in wax and cast it in bronze via the lost-wax method.  I would have then electroplated the crown body in silver and inlaid the gold details.  This production was not of that caliber, and since it was a volunteer effort, I opted to 3D print it in ABS plastic and apply the details with metallic paint.  For such a low budget production, I think I nailed it.