ABQ Times

For the past 15 years, Student Affairs has been recognizing and celebrating staff, faculty, departments, and student employees at the annual Louie Awards ceremony—a themed event complete with decorations, food, and a golden Lobo Louie bobblehead for the winners. This year, the coveted awards are materializing thanks to ARTSLab, an interdisciplinary makerspace within the College of Fine Arts (CFA) whose pillars are Art, Research, Technology and Science.

Each year, Natalie Brigance, executive assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs (VPSA) and Louie ceremony coordinator, prepares the sought-after statue by digging into Student Affairs’ Lobo Louie bobblehead stash and applying gold spray paint. However, this year presented challenges due to a shortage in the stash and limited restocking options that were neither ideal nor cost-effective.

“Because buying the bobbleheads in bulk was neither ideal nor cost-effective,” Brigance said. “We decided to look at other options that were similar and still conveyed the look and feel of the traditional golden Louie statue award.”

Florencio Olguin, Ph.D., director of operations for Student Affairs and former academic operations officer in the CFA Dean’s Office suggested working with ARTSLab to print the Louie on their 3D printer. “Professor Stewart Copeland and his team at ARTSLab had previously used 3D printing technology to create a life-size Lobo for CFA’s inaugural ArtsSplash event in 2022,” Olguin said. “So I knew they could help us with our conundrum.”

Tyler Sovelove, an undergraduate student who has worked at ARTSLab for the past year and is soon-to-be employed by Meow Wolf, was assigned the duty of printing this year’s awards. “ARTSLab is a really exciting place to work,” he said. “Besides gaining a lot of technical knowledge and skill...learning how to work collaboratively.”

Sovelove emphasized that everyone at ARTSLab has an artistic background but often collaborates with people from other disciplines like sciences or humanities. "I think it’s really easy for departments at the university to be insular," he said. "But ARTSLab offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration."

The creation process involves placing a sample bobblehead on a pedestal in a well-lit room and using a powerful 3D scanner to capture every angle of Louie. The data is then entered into 3D software to create a clean model ready for printing.

After several test prints and experiments with different support methods, Sovelove perfected the model which will premiere at this year's ceremony on Tuesday, June 4 from 3-5 p.m. in Ballroom C of the Student Union Building.

Sovelove has since graduated and is leaving his position at ARTSLab open for another aspiring student while taking his skills gained from UNM's collaborative environment to his new job at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe.

“I believe that one of the best things about ARTSLab is how it fosters a collaborative environment,” he said. “This allows art to be part of greater conversations at the university.”