The Backstory Behind a Man and His Dog

We cannot help but wonder about the people (and animals) behind the portraits we facilitate, and are thrilled when they share their stories with us.

Jeremy of Joy Complex found ArtCorgi by winning a free commission via a design contest held by the 3D printing community Pinshape (Jeremy plays around with 3D printing not just to create cool jewelry, but also awesome racetrack sculptures). To learn more about Jeremy, his adorable dog Lola, and his 3D printing career, read on.

By the by, this particular portrait, with a Patrick Nagel twist, was created by Blacksmiley. Check out her commission page to get your own similarly-styled piece.

Q&A with Jeremy of Joy Complex

ArtCorgi (AC): We love that you opted to get a portrait of you and your dog. What is your dog’s name and what is your dog’s personality like?

Jeremy (J): My dog’s name is Lola – when we rescued her she already had that name. But because her legs are so long we called her string bean, which got shortened to “The Bean” or simply Bean. So now she’s Lola Bean! She’s half Dalmatian, half Doberman and all Snuggle Muffin. She is very laid back and calm – great with our two kids – as long as she is with the family. She HATES being alone! It just so happens that I work from home as a jewelry designer so she never (well hardly ever) has to worry about being by herself.

AC: What got you into 3D printing?

J: I got into 3D printing because I wanted to make a meaningful present for my wife for valentines day. I decided that I wanted to turn my voice saying “I Love You” into a pendant or earrings and went about trying to figure out how to do that. I found a DVD that taught me how to use Rhino (a CAD software program) and slowly learned how to model objects in 3D. In the end I was able to learn enough to get what I wanted printed in silver and the rest is history.

AC: Can you tell us more about the jewelry you design?

J: A piece of jewelry is a wearable sculpture. Take for example the soundscape pendant commissioned exclusively for Stilnest (http://stilnest.com/en/designer-joycomplex). If you scale it up it would be just as interesting to behold. When I go to a museum or a gallery I have to consciously hold myself back from reaching out and touching the things I see. Jewelry is made TO be touched. My goal for every piece I make is to feed that desire all people have to touch. This is why I design jewelry.
But I also like having fun with 3d printing a good example of this are my Joy Complex Pocket Torii. They are whimsical Shinto gates that are perfect to place just about anywhere – your desk, garden, or in your pocket! My goal with them is to get them in pictures all around the world tagged #JoiTorii so I can see where people have brought them and placed around the world.

AC: What inspired you to create racetrack sculptures?

J: I really enjoy watching Grand Prix motorcycle racing – MotoGP. Those guys dance around a track inches apart at 200 mph. The races are all around the world though! So, I guess I started making the tracks for the same reason a young kid builds a model of an airplane (do kids still do that? Ha!) – to be transported somewhere else. To feel closer to a place or maybe even a time maybe. In the end, I thought it would be neat to hold my favorite tracks in the palm of my hand. Once I did that became the tagline for the entire venture (http://3d-racetracks.com/). You really feel a connectedness to the particular track when you’re holding it. It’s strange. Really, it makes you want to see a race even more, so I guess it feeds the obsession. ;-) I showed some of the prototypes to my local MotoGP friends. They really dug them. I printed a few more and shared the photos on Reddit and the response was huge. That’s when I thought, “Hey, I’ve got something here.” The topographic ones are especially cool! You show them to a race fan and their eyes light up. They study the things like drivers pouring over telemetry data. It’s neat to transport people somewhere!