This week we are highlighting Narada Dan Vantari, the designer behind shop Sacred Geometry Web. Narada first learned sterographic 3D as a teenager and has been hooked on mathematical art ever since. As an artist, website creator, musician, chess champion and more, Narada wants to turn the world on to the ancient knowledge of sacred geometry with the “futuristic” technology of 3D printing!
Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?
I am an artist, website maker, musician, ex-Australian-Junior-Chess-Champion, on a mission to turn the world on to the ancient knowledge known these days as ‘sacred geometry’. I believe that geometry is a key to good science, a secret of great art, and a light on the mystical path. I specialize in original projections of higher dimensional geometries such as the these ones available in my shop: the Toroidal Hypercube, the 5 Dimensional Cube, and the 4 Dimensional Vector Equilibrium. I am based in Byron Bay Australia, a center of alternative society and creativity.
What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?
As a teenager I was lucky to have a friend turn me on to learning to draw by hand in stereographic 3D and I have been creating geometric models ever since though at first they were with matchsticks and glue. Geometry has a wide appeal across cultures and times, and there is a strong tradition of mysticism known as ‘Sacred Geometry’. From Islamic art to the psychedelic art of the 60s, from fractals to the new age and techno/rave scenes use of it as venue decorations, light shows, and clothing designs – geometry is everywhere. I am inspired by the traditional belief that understanding and working with the most important geometric forms has a subtle but profound effect on the human mind. I believe that having them in your space and contemplating their structure can accelerate the soul’s evolution and activate higher brain functionality.
What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
Shapeways is truly a geometers dream come true! Geometers of the past must be seething with envy at our ability to turn ideas into realities so easily. I use these models as jewelery, teaching aids, altar pieces, talking points, meditation tools, and potentially as experimental equipment for free energy devices using magnets aligned to the geometries. 😉 (see my video on this page here for early experiments in making the magnetic fields conform to the geometry.)
How did you learn how to design in 3D?
I am competent with photoshop and I have used Shapeways 2D to 3D app to get some nice results. As I am a beginner with 3D max, I advertised for someone capable of making what I was imagining. The first couple of people had difficulty with the unconventional angles of the 4D shapes. Eventually I found a very nice young architect in Bangladesh through odesk. He was already interested in this sort of work and he has been a pleasure to work with over the last year to create what is now over 50 different models in my shop. His name is Mamunur Rashid and he is definitely interested in more work than I can supply him with so contact him if you need his services!
How do you promote your work?
I am preparing to use every method at my disposal to launch a promotional campaign for my website featuring a slideshow of these products. I also run competitions to win the geometries. I use my Facebook pages for promotion of course. But I am still preparing something bigger, which is to use the geometries as membership insignias of a club and allow members to earn income from helping to grow the clubs membership. Send me a private message if you are interested to be informed when it launches.
Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?
I have a bias towards geometric art and Bathsheba is my favorite designer. I have collected all 6 of her Platonic Polytope models which saves me from having to make them myself 🙂 My favorite is this one. I also very much like her curvacious octopus shapes based on the Platonic Solids.
If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
I would like to make a new kind of geometric model kit using some sort of clip together functionality. There are quite a few commercially available construction kits, but there is always room for better ones. Im sure we can do better than printing lego blocks ! Ultimately I would like to integrate magnets and electricity into these kits to experiment with what is possible. I also have ambitions to create new kinds of game pieces and boards that are more 3 dimensional than traditional board games.
What is limiting me is not so much the technology as the cost of designing, testing, printing, and distributing. Im hoping these will continue to come down till they are no longer an issue! And then of course there is finding the time to actually design these things!
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS SHOP:
- Great overall theme
- Informational photos
- Sections for easy shopping
- Lots of profile information, linking to other sites
Thank you, Narada! So pleased to see that 3D printing plays such a role in your passion for sacred geometry. The beauty of your products brings a whole new light to mathematical art. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Narada’s website. To be featured, email aimee @ shapeways.com.