IT'S UP TO YOU, NY

This month I flew for a 10 day visit to the Big Apple. The happy excuse was the participation of my husband, Elon Ganor, in an art fair called SCOPE. His works were shown at the "Corridor" gallery. We were lucky enough to visit NY while three other major art exhibitions were taking place in the city: ARMORY, INDEPENDENT, and VOLTA NY. As if that's not enough, a fantastic 3-D exhibition was on at the MAD design museum, dedicated to the applications of 3-dimensional printing (it will be showing until June 1, 2014, click here to read more).

Living in New York between 1996-2000 wasn't always easy for me, but it is a place that I always love to come back to visit. It is a mesmerizing city and always serves as a source of inspiration. My favorite thing about it is its cultural richness: the combination of architecture, education and the arts in every corner - galleries, museums, opera, theater, and innovations everywhere. Another thing I love about it is the bitter-sweet sense of 'so much to see and experience' yet the notion that you must be missing something going on on the other side of town. 

The endless action makes it a favorite location for me to photograph. Some of the motifs I am drawn to capture are - experiences of exhibitions, day-to-day scenes, portraits of people on the street, subway, and more. Scroll down to catch a glimpse of New York from my own eyes.  

BEHIND THE SCENES!

If you have been following this blog for a while, you'll know that my latest jewelry collection, "The Netline", is made with the technology of 3-dimensional printing. In the past I used a technology for the creation of 3-D objects called CNC. This process is based on carving material out of a wax block until the desired design is reached.

For the complex designs of the Netline I've started using 3-D printing, which prints layers of material according to the computed design (to learn more about the printing process alone, click here). I print the jewels using advanced machinery owned by a special lab called MPM. Companies such as MPM execute printing and casting processes for clients of different industries including medicine, jewelry, mechanics, etc. 

The best way to understand the complicated production process is to watch MPM's video showing the printing and casting of two products. The 11 minute clip shows the different stages of production, from a computer design to a physical reality.

First, the design is printed in a plastic substance, in thin layers from bottom to top. Then, the printed objects are attached onto a device which is covered in plaster, creating a "negative" of the desired object. During the heating of the plaster (in order to harden it), the printed module is melted away leaving a hollow mold.
Then the desired metal is inserted into a vessel where it is melted and poured into the cast. As the material cools down, the metal hardens and forms the shape of the cast. The plaster cylinder is put in liquid in order for it to dissolve, revealing the printed product. Once the printed object is ready, the final task is to complete any handcrafted elements to the product, such as assembling parts together, setting stones, finishes, etc.