I haven’t had a chance to work in the makerspace for this project yet, but I will update this page as I go! So far I just have my inkscape design for the piece, which total up to 9 layers so far!
My box will be 11.5″ tall, 8″ wide, and 2.5″ deep on the inside. This takes into account about 0.5 cm I want to put between each paper layer and enough room for the lighting in the back. I’m planning on using 1/8″ birch wood, so I used a kerf of 0.0098 inches.
Update – 05/04/21
I have finally completed the box for this project. It took me about three tries and a whole lot of wood. My first attempt was with 1/4″ wood (sold out of 1/8″ and had to redo the box schematic) and resulted in 15 passes which still did not completely cut through.
Second attempt was with 1/8″ wood, which the laser cutter had finished cutting, I realized the kerf was too large: the pieces did not fit together. Luckily, I had 30 minutes left in the maker space, so I bought another 24×36 inch piece of 1/8″ birch wood and used a kerf of 0.003, and finally got the cuts that I wanted.
I lined the inside of the box with LED strips 
and cut a hole out the back for the battery to fit.
Then during my next makerspace time, I lasercut the layers to my art piece. The tricky part of this was that the paper I was using was exactly the size that was needed to fit in the box. This meant that I had to line up the paper exactly how I needed for each of the 9 layers. Although some of the layers may not line up exactly, the slightly offset edges of the paper makes outlines of lightness around the darker pieces.
Final piece! I’m very happy with how this turned out!
Hi Imogen! I appreciate the fantasy element of your design by adding in the giant squid creature! Will the layer edges of your piece show or will they be covered by something like a light box design?
Thank you! – I’m going to have all the cut edges showing, and then a wooden lip around the outside of the frame to attach the pieces to.
Love your design!
Hi Imogen! I have to agree with Lauren, I really appreciate the fantasy vibe your piece gives. What made you choose a squid? Were there any other creatures you debated on using? Cant wait to see this!
I took a lot of my inspiration from Hari and Deepti’s underwater work with the giatn jellyfish. I liked the idea of the giant squid because it goes with the mythical vibe of Atlantis as the squid is also (supposedly) mythical.
You’ve put a lot of detail into this design. How are you planning on putting it all together?
I’m planning on using foam tape to create distance between the layers while also sticking them together.