In 2016 I had an idea of creating dimensional birds with skate and surfboards as their feathers. I had never used a CNC or laser cutter, nor did I have access to one (or so I thought), so I made a couple mock-ups of the birds with a scroll saw. They didn’t have the clean look I was hoping for.
Then I met Adrian Rassmussen at the first ever Maker’s Market in downtown Felton.
He had recently set up a laser cutting art studio down the street from where the market was being held. I told him about the concept for my bird art and he invited me to come by his studio that week. I went and showed him my mock-ups. He said, “You should really try doing these on the laser.” So I went home and set up the files, came back and he zipped out my bird pieces. It was a game-changer!
He told me to go check out the Fab Lab in Santa Cruz, which had also recently set up shop. So I went down and signed up for a membership.