About

Portrait of Blossom Merz

I'm a designer based in Madrid, New Mexico. I design geometric and organic patterns, and I see them through to fabrication in metal, wood, and printed materials — whatever the final result requires.

My geometric patterns are built from fundamental tiles that repeat across a plane according to precise mathematical rules. The traditions behind them are deep — Islamic geometric design, Japanese kumiko, Celtic interlace, Art Deco, Gothic tracery — but every design is original.

My organic patterns come from a different place. I write simulations that model natural processes — the same mathematics that drives animal markings and crystal growth. Spots, stripes, labyrinths, branching structures — all generated, all precise, all difficult to draw by hand.

I apply these patterns to jewelry, textiles, architectural surfaces, and public art. Scale doesn't matter: the forms that work as a brass pendant will also work as a building facade.

The same patience that fills a pendant fills a panel.

Skills

  • 3D modeling and CAD
  • CAM and toolpath generation
  • Laser cutting, CNC machining, 3D printing
  • Simulation and generative pattern software
  • Image editing and vector graphics
  • Custom plugin and script development
  • Vinyl plotting, screen printing, letterpress
  • Project management and rapid turnaround

Exhibit Design

Since 2025 I've been working as a designer for a design/build firm, focusing on exhibit design projects including the Route 66 Visitor Center for the City of Albuquerque.

See exhibit and production design work →

Film & Television

I spent over five years in film and television as a scenic painter, working on features and series including Oppenheimer, Stranger Things, American Primeval, and Army of the Dead. My job was to follow the art department's vision and create the complex surfaces they needed — aging, weathering, and tying new construction into existing locations.

In 2025 I moved into model making and prop design on Joseph of Egypt, where I built scale models of full sets — including a complex temple and an entire neighborhood complex — for the DP, actors, and other departments to use for shot planning and blocking. I also modeled terrain and props that needed to be carefully modified.

The film work taught me to execute under pressure, collaborate with art directors and construction departments, and solve problems fast. I bring all of that to my design and pattern work.

I'm still available for film and production design work in between my other gigs.

See my production design portfolio →

Film & TV Credits

Scenic Painter unless otherwise noted.

2026
  • Crime Novella
2025
  • Joseph of Egypt — Model Maker, Prop Designer
2024
  • Traphouse — Standby Paint
  • Ransom Canyon, Season 1
  • Pulse, Season 1
2023
  • American Primeval, Season 1
  • Loud House Halloween
2022
  • Oppenheimer — Set Dec Paint
  • Coyote vs Acme
  • Obliterated, Season 1
2021
  • Trigger Warning
  • Stranger Things, Season 4
  • End of the Road
2020
  • Outer Range, Season 1
  • Big Sky, Season 1
  • Them: Covenant
2019
  • Deputy, Season 1
  • Army of the Dead — Set Dec Paint
  • BIOS / Goodyear / Fitch
  • Greenbrier / El Camino

Earlier: VFX Software Developer, 1993–1999.

Contact

algoristanm@gmail.com
Madrid, New Mexico