Wooden Puffy
The Wooden Puffy was created in 2023 for a project in Digital Assemblies, an elective at the University of Utah.
This was a multi-step process, beginning with artificial image generation and curation, then moving to 3D modeling, and then taking form in the physical world through CNC routing and finally wooden joinery to create a wooden cube.
Initially, I was interested in creating an optical illusion out of the plywood, that would make it look soft in texture. But as I was making, I accounted for the layers of wood that made up the plywood, which made the pieces more interesting. Instead of relying on the combined shape to look soft, the variation in height and shape of each pocket created a stimulating visual experience. I chose to seal the wood with a clear sealant, instead of staining it, so the different colors in the wood would still appear with high contrast.
Process:
The first part of this project was utilizing AI to prompt images of wooden cubes with textures on each side.
The second part of the project was translating the AI-generated images into 3D models. In order to CNC the cubes, I needed to deconstruct the 3D modeled cube to be 6 flat sides. This made the plywood printable. I then reversed this process and joined the 6 sides together using wood glue and nails.
