…Peter Dahmen is a paper engineer. Which in practice is totally different than, say, a mechanical engineer or a civil engineer, but in principle maybe not so much. Engineers solve problems, and Dahmen does technically solve problems. Even if they are just made of paper. For the past 25 years the German graphic designer has been creating impossible-looking pop-up sculptures out of the material. Dahmen is deft with a pair of scissors and a tube of glue. He’s quick—but accurate—with a cut and a fold. These skills have led to some pretty neat creations.
Dahmen has always been interested in paper. Even as a child he recalls rather spending time in his room, cutting and painting rather than playing football outside. But it wasn’t until the late 1980s when his graphic design teacher gave him the task of creating a three-dimensional graphic from a piece of paper that the idea of pop-ups struck him. Without a car, there was no easy way to transport his homework. Unless he folded it. Dahmen realized he had a knack for folding and cutting and began exploring new ways to create pop-up sculptures….
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!