How Semi-Automated Customizable Art Production Can Solve the Circular Economy Problem

A Personal Spark of Sustainable Creativity

My aunt has always been an eco-conscious artist. Creative, thoughtful, and deeply connected to environmental values. Several years ago, she began experimenting with papier-mâché, the traditional technique of transforming paper waste into beautiful, durable art.

She taught herself the craft through YouTube, manuals, and trial and error, eventually developing a process that used discarded newspapers, egg cartons, and glue to produce stunning sculptures. One of her works:

Artist: Marjan Memarian from Barkav Art

Kung Fu Panda by Marjan Memarian – Barkav Art

This journey taught me something: powerful ideas often lie in simple materials.

The Hidden Opportunity in Waste

In 2024, Norwegian households generated 185,000 tonnes of paper waste (SSB). While this shows a slight decline from previous years, the number is still staggering. Most of this waste ends up in recycling streams — or worse, landfills.

But what if this material could be upcycled into high-value art, design, or products — through a system that’s digitally driven, locally adaptable, and artist-friendly?

Introducing Skapatek Ameri: Software for Circular Creativity

At Skapatek, we are not manufacturers.

We are a software company building the digital infrastructure needed to connect waste, creativity, and fabrication.

Our mission:

Enable artists, designers, and makers to turn local paper waste into scalable, customizable, and meaningful creations. Using AI, generative design tools, and remote manufacturing APIs.

To build this, we first had to understand the problem deeply , not just from a design standpoint, but from a materials, manufacturing, and systems perspective.

What We’re Exploring (And Why It Matters)

Traditional papier-mâché art requires internal skeletons (wire, wood, plastic) to provide structure. This adds labor and complexity — and isn't scalable.

So we're asking:

What would it take to design a digital workflow for art production that eliminates this need altogether?

Here’s what we’re researching and prototyping:

Material Logic: Papier-Mâché Without Skeletons

We’re studying how artists and makers are creating self-supporting blocks of papier-mâché , strong enough to be shaped and carved without frames. Understanding these methods informs how we build software that models and simulates real-world structural behavior.

Generative 3D AI

We're fine-tuning 3D-to-3D generative models to convert sketches, partial scans, or reference images into complete, print-ready STL meshes. This makes it easier for artists to go from idea to object.

API Infrastructure for Local Fabrication

We’re developing APIs that connect our software to CNC machines, allowing distributed production , where designs created anywhere can be fabricated locally using sustainable materials.

The Problems We’re Solving -- Digitally

No Need for Skeletons: We’re modeling workflows that work with block-based papier-mâché to simplify production.

AI-Enhanced Design: Our tools turn incomplete input into printable geometry.

Fabrication-as-a-Service: We bridge the gap between digital designs and local CNC/fab labs.

Circular Design Thinking: Our system encourages reuse, modularity, and low-waste outcomes.

Want to Collaborate or Learn More?

Visit skapatekameri.com to keep updated or subscribe for news regarding our projects !

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