Alex Waterman
Vertebral Testament
Prompt: Sacred body, create a sculpture based off of a sacred body part.
To me, the most sacred body part is the spine. I knew I wanted to use clear resin for a glass-like effect, but I was unable to use the technique I wanted, so I had to resort to 3D-printing. I took multiple scans of deer bones and meshed them with a scan of my spine. In this piece, each disc is completely different– similar to our own body. I used multivariable calculus to graph the inverted Mobius strip in Blender and edited each vertebra individually in Nomad. This was a very long and tedious project, but worth it. (40+ hours) Once I had the STL file, I knew it was time to print. This caused many problems, especially while staying on a budget myself. There was also about a one-week time frame, and all the local places were unable to accommodate. Finding a manufacturer alone took me hours, and it was a process I haven’t done before in my life. I ended up resorting to online resources and finding a place to print in transparent (clear, glasslike) resin. The final result was gorgeous. When the light hit it the right way, it sparkled like diamonds or glass. Feedback was surprising. It tells my story of want for perfection, while the infinite movement of the spine is imperfect and often broken.