The Blog Isn't Meant For You

Don't be fooled by the title, this is meant for anyone, everyone really. You, yes you, are the exact person I am writing this for. Anyone willing to take part in this journey of mine to create anything and everything I can.

This isn't my first day in the world of creating, or making, I have been a life long maker. But what I would like this to become is a place where I can document my triumphs and short comings, my successes and my lessons learned.

Every single day I learn something new about what I am making, regardless of what it is. New techniques, new materials, using materials in new ways, combining materials in new ways. The thing that keeps me going is the fact that I am a life long learner. I will never know everything, and that is the most fun part of the journey.

So the title may have been a little misleading, however it is a reference to one of the most amazing and remarkable new tools in my utility belt of tools and techniques: 3D printing.

My girlfriend (who is one of the most remarkably supportive people of my sometimes obsessive behaviors) and I absolutely love the HBO show Westworld. There is a particular prop in the show called 'The Maze'. Long story short, these robots (hosts) inside of this theme park are trying to become self aware. Not that becoming self aware is a pyramid they metaphorically climb, but a maze, that over time leads them closer, and sometimes farther away from the center. When humans ask the hosts about The Maze, the hosts respond "The Maze isn't meant for you."

The Maze

Even though I knew about 3D printers, I swore when I learned how to use one the first thing I was going to print was The Maze. Low and behold, when I temporarily relocated out here (here being California) for work, and I was allowed to play with a 3D printer, the first thing I ever printed was The Maze.

The Maze (3D printed, Green, PLA)

Its interesting to think of my skills as a maker not being a pyramid I am trying to climb to the top and know everything ever, but a maze I have to decide what path I want to take. While I am working on a project there is more than one right way to end up completing my task. More and less efficient ways to get to the center of my personal maze. Every time I make a choice, I can learn something from it and improve it next time. 

The first piece I printed, The Maze, was green PLA (PLA is an organic plastic made out of cornstarch). When I make something I am always thinking of ways I can improve it next time. That being said I hope to print the next one out of wood filament (basically sawdust with a binding agent. The filament is on a spool, heated up and extruded, like icing on a cake, to make prints), so I can weather it and stain the wood. 

That is part of the fun, not only making a thing but learning how I could make it better in the future. 

While "The Maze isn't meant for you", this blog is. Join me on this journey and watch me discover, create, build, make and, most of all, learn.