Fractal decorations

Today I was invited to a holiday party where the hosts asked us to bring not food nor drink but rather decorations for their tree.

I took this as a challenge. I have a 3D printer, damn it, said I to myself, and I plan to use it. I spent much of the day writing various Java programs, trying this or that, running experiments on my 3D printer, until I hit upon a strategy that would produce a truly good holiday tree decoration.

And after all, what use is a 3D printer, this technology of the future, this glimpse at things that may yet be, if not for printing cool holiday decorations to be draped upon trees?

Eventually, after many false starts, I found inspiration from the Koch Curve and the Sierpinsky Gasket — two venerable fractal shapes that never fail to surprise and delight.

If you’ve never heard of these things — or if you just want to see the cool 3D fractal shapes I created for this party — tune in tomorrow.

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