Background

College campuses hold a wealth of history, blending the stories of their institutions and community with those of the wider world. The epitome of this fascinating history can be found in the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). Among the thousands of objects housed here, some carry tales of adventure, cultural exchange, and intrigue that transport us back in time. Between 1870 and 1871, two Williams students took a Lyceum-sponsored trip to Honduras and Belize where they acquired two Maya tenons in the town of Corozal and brought them back to Williams College, where they remain today. These tenons are now studied as part of anthropology and art history courses at the college and have been on view in Object Lab and other exhibitions at WCMA. More information about these artifacts can be found in a student research paper written in 2019. 

Given their fascinating history with the college, the WCMA wanted to send the above pictured tenon, object number 1870.1.2, to the Beatriz Cortez x rafa esparza: Earth and Cosmos exhibition in New York City. The Earth and Cosmos exhibit celebrates cultural and artistic ties to ancient civilizations, making the tenon a fitting addition. However, the tenon is fragile, sculpted from soft limestone, and heavy, about 125 pounds. If it were to be shipped to the show, it would have been a miracle if it arrived in one piece. This logistical nightmare prompted Beth Fischer, WCMA’s Assistant Curator of Digital Learning and Research and Lecturer, to reach out to the Makerspace and request a 3D printed copy at a 1:1 scale model. She even shared the high-resolution photogrammetry 3D scan that she had completed during the pandemic. 

Although shipping a reproduced object eliminates any fear of damage to the original, 3D printing still raises a series of challenges. First, the tenon is significantly larger (23 1/4″ × 8 1/2″ × 18″) than our largest printing bed, meaning we must print it in quadrants and glue them together in the post-processing stage. Second, 3D-printed objects can be fragile, and they may chip or crack if they are jostled during shipping. Third, how do you best transform a 100% plastic object into a material resembling aged limestone?

Printing

We resolved the oversized nature of this object by dividing our model into four roughly equal parts. We printed each quarter separately, and the actual printing times ranged between 10 and 34 hours per each quarter—for a total of about four days of nearly continuous printing.

We briefly experimented with adding mass to the 3D print by pausing the print midway through, then adding steel BBs into the hollow interior infill, and then completing the print. We decided there was little benefit to adding mass, as the object would be on display and would not be handled by the public. We instead focused on durability for shipping purposes. We selected our settings and printed a test piece (representing 1/32 of the entire object) that we then dropped and kicked to subject it to the kind of rough handling it might experience during shipping. We found that a 3mm shell provided a sturdy and durable object. We printed in Sunlu PLA Meta 1.75mm filament (white) with the following specifications: 0.2mm layer height (speed), 15% infill density, triangular fill pattern (low density, strong, fast), and organic tree supports (easy to remove). We configured the Prusa XL to auto-swap filament rolls as each successive 1kg PLA roll ran out. For the largest (34-hour prints), we used 2.3 rolls, and this hot-swapping meant increased efficiency because we did not have to babysit it. 

We created the model’s stone-like appearance using a post-processing technique that the Williams Makerspace learned last spring semester from two (then) local 5th graders: Elizabeth Heeringa (she invented the technique) and Anderson Keiser-Clark. Together they applied this technique to a pair of large-format 3D printed Spruces Lions that supported Giuseppina Forte’s ARTS 222 Critical Practice of Architecture: Theories, Methods, and Techniques course. These lions were exhibited in the Williams 2024 Spring Big Arts Show.

Post-Processing Recipe

We used luthier’s woodworking tools (scrapers) to remove extraneous plastic from the flat sides of each quadrant. We then superglued the four quadrants together with CA (cyanoacrylate) glue, and applied three layers of 3M Bondo (a thick epoxy putty used in automobile repair) to hide the seams. We let that dry and then hand-brushed two thin coats of DRYLOK Original Concrete & Masonry Waterproofer; this helped convert the plastic PLA surface texture to the more sandy and gritty nature of the DRYLOCK paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we created an acrylic wash solution by filling two spray bottles (one black, one brown) with a solution of 15% acrylic paint and 85% water. We sprayed on 4 coats, allowing 24 hours to dry between each. It sprays on quite dark, but then dramatically lightens as it drips off. Iterative coats allowed us more control over achieving our final desired outcome.

We were excited to accidentally discover that using a painting hood with strong ventilation (to reduce our exposure to the DRYLOK fumes) changed the spray bottle output and turned it into a very fast-moving and fine mist (think: atomized), and that nearly eliminated drippy streaks. We attempted to use our two colors to recreate the variegated tones of natural limestone by adding extra solution to nooks and crannies, and then we dry-brushed the visual highlights with a stiff, fine brush (using pure acrylic paint) to add some texture. Our goal was never to color match the original Mayan tenon, but rather to create a realistic looking substitute that could be interpreted as being limestone. The painting was completed by Lisa Dorin, Deputy Director of WCMA, and David Keiser-Clark, Makerspace Program Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYC Exhibition

The final 3D printed tenon was visually stunning, weighed about 20 pounds, and was successfully shipped to Earth and Cosmos, where it is being exhibited from January 29 through May 17, 2025. Beatriz Cortez was very happy with the result and hopes to be able to borrow the print again for future exhibitions. This exhibition-quality 3D print acts as a fascinating interface between artistic expression and cutting-edge technology. Although it was artificially fabricated, it still carries the history and cultural significance of the original piece in a manner that can be transported from location to location and shared with the broader community. This work is a part of Williams College’s story, but also a part of many other stories, and I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to share it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgments

This project was made possible thanks to the collaborative efforts of Beth Fischer and Lisa Dorin (WCMA) and Makerspace student workers Harris Longfield ’27 (me) and Elena Sore ’27, with support from David Keiser-Clark.

Publications Mentioning this Work

• ARTnews, March 25, 2025: At the Americas Society, a Show Honoring Olmec Art Challenges Museum Protocol
• AS/COA, December 20, 2024: Americas Society Presents – Beatriz Cortez x rafa esparza: Earth and Cosmos, Americas Society Presenta – Beatriz Cortez x rafa esparza: Earth and Cosmos (Spanish)
• Arte al Día, December 13, 2024: BEATRIZ CORTEZ X RAFA ESPARZA: EARTH AND COSMOS, A JOURNEY THROUGH THE ANCIENT CULTURES
• September 8, 2022: Artist Talk by Beatriz Cortez