Digital sculpture and 3D printing for the Ocean Exploration Center for Marine Conservation in Key Largo, FL.

As a kid I spent countless hours observing, and catching and releasing fish in the San Juan islands. Bullhead Sculpin, Cod, Dogfish, Salmon, Shiner Perch, Jellyfish, the list goes on. So as you can imagine when I was contacted about joining Intention Space, and this project, I was genuinely thrilled.

December 2024 - April 2025 I was given the task to sculpt and 3D print dozens of true to life reef fish, invertebrates and sharks native to the Florida Keys. During this process I had the great honor of working alongside marine biologists like Christy Semmens and Hal Peterson. The amazing team at Intention Space brought all of this to life.

Below show the new exploration center, some of the digital sculpts, fabrication process. Some if the fish had many different poses, and life phases. i.e. having their fins flared or relaxed, various swimming positions, or being in the initial or terminal life stage.

Special thanks to Ian Henry for teaching me the ropes of 3D printing and fabrication methods, and to the rest of the team at Intention Space :) Hal Peterson, Mark Quinn, Shannon Kelley, Lucy, Paola, Jesse Johnson, Robert MacDonald, Anne Gray, Ben James, David McGrath, Chad Bale, Kit Palin, Jon Harmon, Koda Smith, Tori Bailey, and Tyler Hamilton, and the many other contractors, painters, and good spirited fish people that made this possible. Also I would like to credit Reef Guide, Smithsonian, and Ned Deloach for providing excellent resources for reference photos for all of these species (even the underbellys !)