← gopicreations.comMade at home · Ganesha festival · 2026

Foam, paper & a little Utah

Building a little Delicate Arch with gpt-6-astra

Ready for the idol.

For this year’s Ganesha festival, I wanted to create a miniature replica of Delicate Arch in Moab, Utah. A heavenly place we visited last December. I had a wood base and six foam sheets.

My idea was to slice the arch horizontally, cut the shapes from foam, and stack them like a sandwich. gpt-6-astra had been released just the day before, and its 3D capabilities looked extraordinary. So why not use it? I sent it the photos and measurements and put it to work on the engineering.

01 / THE STARTING POINT

What I had at home

The photo I shared: a 16.5-inch base, with a 7.5-inch central plate.
The photo I shared: a 16.5-inch base, with a 7.5-inch central plate.
Six foam sheets. The design had to fit these.
Six foam sheets. The design had to fit these.

The space to work with

Idol: about 10″ high × 6″ wide × 6″ deep.

Base: 16.5″ across.

Central plate: 7.5″ wide.

I could add side supports for a little overhang.

My foam inventory

SheetThickness × width × length, inches
12.25 × 11.5 × 19.5
21.25 × 6.75 × 18.75
30.75 × 3.75 × 23.5
40.75 × 4.25 × 26.5
50.5 × 6.75 × 27
60.5 × 6.75 × 27
02 / BACK AND FORTH

The legs took a few tries

The first drawing looked too symmetrical. I kept coming back to the thinner left leg, its narrow waist, and the depth. We worked from photos of the real arch.

One version needed extra foam. I asked for a smaller design that used the six sheets I already had.

The reference photo beside the final cutting model.
The reference photo beside the final cutting model.
The same arch, assembled and pulled apart into horizontal layers.
The same arch, assembled and pulled apart into horizontal layers.
37foam pieces21stacked levels6original sheets18.4 × 17.5 × 3.35″planned width × height × depth
Front, side and top views from the final assembly guide.
Front, side and top views from the final assembly guide.
03 / FROM PAPER TO FOAM

Print. Cut. Keep the labels.

I asked for several shapes on each Letter page, a foam-sheet number, and matching marks between layers. The left and right symbols had to stay inside the cutout.

Three slices on one page. The pack has 20 cutting pages.
Three slices on one page. The pack has 20 cutting pages.
Teal triangle for LEFT. Purple square for RIGHT.
Teal triangle for LEFT. Purple square for RIGHT.
The wider crown templates join across two paper halves.
The wider crown templates join across two paper halves.
Where each piece goes on the two half-inch foam sheets.
Where each piece goes on the two half-inch foam sheets.
Paper patterns on the foam, ready to cut.
Paper patterns on the foam, ready to cut.

Every little shape had a place to go.

Thick sheets for the lower sections. Thinner slices around the changing curves.
The cut pieces, still wearing their numbers.
The cut pieces, still wearing their numbers.
04 / THE MESSY PART

Stack, shape, paint

I stacked the numbered pieces, matched the alignment marks, then worked on the edges and sandstone color.

Stacked up, before painting.
Stacked up, before painting.
After shaping and painting.
After shaping and painting.
05 / READY FOR GANESHA

A little Delicate Arch at home

With Ganesha in place.
With Ganesha in place.
A closer look.
A closer look.

Behind the build

Concept, creative direction & making
Shruti Kori
Planning & making
Gopi Kori
Engineering
gpt-6-astra

Btw, the Ganesha idol is completely handmade too, as it is every year (no GPT help here :P). The clay is 100% reused from last year.