Collaborative Creation in 3D: An Artist and Fabricator Share Insights

What happens when an artist and a fabricator collaborate and push each other’s creative boundaries? We’ll find out in this talk about the digital fabrication of a sculpture exhibited in NYCxDESIGNxSOUVENIR.

Today’s art and technology landscape is too complex for any one person to master. Through collaboration, diverse skills and perspectives influence one another, reshaping traditional roles.

We’ll gain insight into this dynamic through the making of Born Again Road Kill (BARK), a sculpture series by Marya Triandafellos that transforms metal scraps—found on the streets of New York City—into bronze figures embodying transformation, resilience, and urban life.

In this talk, Triandafellos is joined by fabricator David Lynshue to discuss the evolution of the BARK series and the collaboration behind it. We’ll learn how artistic intent and fabrication strategy continually influenced one another, shaping the project in unexpected ways—particularly in the selection and application of materials. As a primarily 2D artist, Marya discovered, through David, the vast possibilities offered by 3D scanning and 3D printing technology.

The conversation will explore how they navigated the technical challenges of transforming unconventional materials. David will explain how using the correct hardware to digitally capture the art—combined with the unique properties of the materials—impacts the entire fabrication process, ensuring each sculpture remains true to its original form and spirit.

David will also outline the multi-phase process of turning traditional bronze sculptures into digital formats that can be duplicated, scaled, or modified. He’ll share how advanced 3D scanning and printing techniques preserved the integrity of the originals while pushing the boundaries of digital fabrication.

Marya will reflect on her journey from the initial discovery of materials to the final formation of the sculptures, and how David’s expertise opened new avenues for her artistic expression.

Ultimately, Born Again Road Kill invites viewers to consider how transformation—personal, environmental, and material—can emerge through acts of loving attention, collaboration, and inventiveness. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how artists and fabricators can collaboratively redefine the aesthetics and production of modern sculpture.