Combining Pen Plotter & Lasers
Combining pen plotting with laser cutting and engraving allows very different forms of mark-making to exist within the same artwork. Precise plotted lines can sit alongside cut edges, engraved surfaces and layered forms, bringing together the physical qualities of ink, paper and material removal. By moving between additive and subtractive processes, the work can shift between drawing and object, using each tool for the particular textures, details and effects it produces best.
The first experiment combined a plotted background of concentric circles in black and gold with layered, laser-engraved aluminium fish mounted over the surface. While the materials and processes worked well visually, the weight of the aluminium caused the paper to warp slightly. Because the background relies on perfectly spaced concentric lines, even this small distortion became unusually visible, producing unintended moiré patterns around the edges of the work. The result was ultimately a useful failure, highlighting how sensitive these highly regular plotted patterns can be to changes in the physical surface and informing how I approach the construction of future pieces.
The next experiment took a more integrated approach, using metallic silver pens to plot detailed Australian grasses directly onto black cardstock. The plotted sheets were then cut with a CO₂ laser, turning the drawings themselves into physical forms that could be layered over one another. Building the individual cut pieces at different depths created a sculptural sense of perspective, with the density and overlap of the grasses changing as the viewer moves around the work.
