Go Groms!

We just saw photos of some acrylic trophies that we made for the folks over at Rip Curl. They were for Gromsearch 2007 in which the hottest talent in youth surfing compete for a chance to go to the world finals in Bell's Beach Australia. We took two pieces of inch thick acrylic and then sandwiched dyed resin between them for a unique and individual look. After the resin finally dried we cut them down to size and hand polished them for hours until they were flawless. Then we had them laser engraved and attached the Rip Curl logo that we made with artFORMULA. The result? Great looking trophies for the Groms. Good job guys.

Certified Clear!

The Acrylic we use is exclusively from Polycast so that we can control the quality of what we put out there. With the last shipment we received we got a two page signed document highlighting all of the physical, optical, and chemical properties of that shipment. It was signed off in two places by actual people who are in charge of quality control. Although it costs us nearly twice the price it is pretty refreshing compared to the nightmares that we have experienced already with both Plexiglas and Reynolds Polymers.

ARTAE GALLERY GRAND OPENING

We are inviting everyone to our gallery opening this Saturday, October 13th at 7:00pm. The show will feature food, wine, paintings, sculpture, acrylic furniture, and more.

Acrylic NestingTables

This photo shows both the Aaron R. Thomas 3/4" acrylic nesting tables and our artc 3/8" acrylic nesting tables. Both are amazing to look at for different budgets. Our 3/4" tables are $1200 and our 3/8" tables are only $295. The artc version are available online at www.artc-acrylic.com

This is Acrylic...

Showing off the versatility of acrylic is this sculpture by Aaron R. Thomas. For the other 980 words, see above.

Acrylic is 100% Recyclable

One of the best things about acrylic is that it is 100% recyclable. This is important in protecting our environment. We at Aaron R. Thomas are proud to announce that we will recycle any acrylic furniture for free. If you have an old piece of acrylic furniture you can simply send it to us and we will recycle it for you. It is what we call doing our part for the environment. Give us your tired, your poor, your acrylic furniture yearning to breathe free, and we will give it a new life.

Simply Beauty

This sculpture is titled "Simplicity". It is made of a piece of cut off acrylic This sculpture showcases the beauty of the material itself and how it can transform a simple form into a beautiful object.

General Characteristics of Acrylic

Acrylic Plastic
Half the weight of glass
Impact resistant
Unaffected by sun or salt spray
Temperature range of -30 to 160° F for continuous service

Cleaning
Wash with mild soap or detergent, with plenty of lukewarm water, dry with soft cloth or chamois.
Grease, oil or tar can be removed with hexane or kerosene. Solvent residue should be removed by washing immediately.
Do Not Use window cleaning sprays, scouring compounds, acetone, gasoline, benzene, carbon tetrachloride or lacquer thinner.

Acrylic and Light

One of the reasons that designers like to use acrylic is because of the way it handles light. Unlike glass, acrylic actually holds and transfers light instead of reflecting it. This makes the material appear to be lit from within. Light is released from the material on the edges and also along any area that has been frosted. Above is a sculpture by Aaron R. Thomas made from stacked acrylic and colored resins, chiseled and polished to a shine.

Bulletproof

In addition to being incredibly light compared to glass, acrylic is also incredibly strong. It is so strong that any thickness over 1 1/2" is bulletproof (and ironically called bulletproof glass). Above is a closeup of a sculpture Aaron made with a hammer and chisel out of some bulletproof glass from a bank.

Material Choice in Design

I found this article in the International Herald Tribune. It shows an interesting study in material choice in design. Below is an excerpt:

All of the chairs are identical in size and shape, but there's one important difference between them. Each chair is made from a different material. One's marble. Another's redwood. The others are in concrete, acrylic, wickerwork, attaché-case metal, polyurethane foam, felt and even hay.

The result is intriguing. Each material transforms the appearance of the chair, creating what seems like an optical illusion. The transparent acrylic chair seems to melt away to nothingness. The marble one looks chunkier, and the redwood chair chunkier still. That's exactly what their designer, Naoto Fukasawa, wanted to happen when he hit upon the idea of creating a series of chairs to illustrate the impact of a single design decision - the choice of material.

The Good

Now that we have shown the bad and the ugly it would only be fair to show the good. One of the reasons that we work with acrylic is because of the pure beauty of the material. Acrylic has a way of capturing light that is more pure than even ice or water. What do you think?

Hillbilly Acrylic Photos

As promised here are some photos of the ugliness we uncovered from our debacle with Reynolds Polymer. A lot of artists like to think of their work as being alive. If this material were a living being my guess is that it would be the product of years of inbreeding. Photos can only show so many flaws but they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words so instead of working all day on synonyms for garbage, here you go.

Bad Materials

Wow, we are pretty far behind in production right now because we received over 10,000lbs of bad materials from Reynolds Polymers. After weeks of cutting, bending, hand sanding, and polishing, we began to remove the paper on some of the pieces to reveal the most revolting looking acrylic I have ever seen. It had a murky green tint to it, scuffs, nicks, air bubbles, and mysterious brown specks floating in it. This stuff looks like it was cooked up in a still. Anyways, I'm not sure what we are going to do with all of this waste. Anyone have any ideas? I will keep you posted on what comes of this mess.

Acrylic Manufacturers

There are many manufacturers of Acrylic around the world. Because quality and location are important to us we use only the clearest, hardest, most resilient acrylic made by Polycast. This material is absolutely colorless and does not yellow over time. It resists chemicals, hazing, and cracking. Best of all Polycast is made here in the United States.

What is Acrylic?

This blog will focus on acrylic as a material. I will highlight differences in clarity, hardness, strength, durability, etc. I also want to show care and cleaning tips. Check back as I will update daily. For immediate information you can take a look at Aaron R. Thomas Design.