The Lab
The Beginning
Every creation begins with a tool.
For me, the first and most essential one was 3D software.
I explored many options—CAD programs, modeling suites, commercial tools.
Most were built for precision, not imagination.
Blender was different. It felt alive, open, and creative.
Learning the Foundation
I downloaded version 2.8 and began to explore.
The interface felt familiar; many years ago, I had worked on professional 3D systems,
so, the logic of space and form came back quickly.
To connect Blender to the real world, I followed a tutorial called " Blender in MM" and “Learn Precision Modeling & Blender 2.9+ / 3.0” by Maker Tales (now Keep Making).
Practice and Early Models
For several months I practiced.
Simple shapes first—small, printed pieces that became my first experiments.
Each new model taught me something about structure, proportion, and light.
Slowly, I began to understand how digital form becomes physical.
The First Sculpture
The first complete Fekla lighting sculpture.
An egg-shaped form built from hundreds of circular impressions,
printed in translucent material and lit from inside.
This was the point where practice turned into something real,
when I saw how light interacts with the printed surface.
Control Tools
The Naga Mouse
To work efficiently, I needed faster access to Blender’s commands.
My right hand rests on a Razer Naga 12-button mouse,
each button mapped to essential shortcuts—Shift, A, Tab, G, and more.
The layout allows me to perform complex actions without leaving the model.
I’ll share my full button map and shortcut scheme here for anyone to use.
The SpaceMouse
My left hand controls motion through space with a 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse.
It provides six degrees of freedom, letting me orbit, pan, and zoom
as if holding the model itself.
To stabilize it, I designed and 3D-printed a custom frame
that also supports a Microsoft Mobile Number Keypad.
Together they create a balanced, two-handed control system.
Evolution
Early Workflow
At first, I shaped each mesh directly—vertex by vertex, surface by surface.
This taught me the fundamentals of Blender’s structure.
It was slow, but it built a foundation for precision and control.
Many of those early models still guide my current designs.
Geometry Nodes
Later, I discovered Geometry Nodes.
Instead of sculpting each part by hand, I began to build systems—
rules that describe how forms grow, repeat, and connect.
It changed how I think about structure: less manual, more generative.
Python Generators
Eventually, my modeling became algorithmic.
Using Python scripts created with ChatGPT,
I started generating entire families of shapes automatically.
Each script defines a concept—a seed from which new
Fekla sculptures can evolve endlessly.
Giving Back
Every Fekla lighting sculpture begins here, in Blender.
And because Blender is freely available to all,
I give back a part of what it helped create:
5% of every profit from my work goes to the Blender Foundation.
3D Printer
Raise 3D Pro3 Plus printer of choice.
This is the 3D printer used for all Fekla sculptures.
It offers a large 300 × 300 × 600 mm build area and a dual-extruder system, which allows printing with multiple materials.
The printer produces high-precision results at 50 microns and maintains consistent quality through stable motion control and closed-loop temperature monitoring.