October 21, 2009
Combining Histories: Make, Scan, Mill, Print, Adjust, Repeat
For the past few years we have utilized several forms of
rapid prototyping to explore new methods of creating form. At The Ohio State
University ceramics program, we have a large Techno Isel CNC (computer
numerically controlled) router and a Konica Minolta Vivid 910 3D scanner, a
Z-Corp 510 3D printer and a soon-to-be-operational Epilog laser cutter. In an
environment where research and development are crucial activities, we willingly
embrace these new technologies in search of a balance between traditional craft
and industrial practice.
June 17, 2009
Community Clay: Planning, Organizing, and Constructing a Ceramic Public Art Piece with Students
Today, artist Jan Brown Checco, who specializes in the design, planning and fabrication of community-based artwork, shares her insights into making a ceramic tile mosaic with students.
February 1, 2009
The New Factory
As a field, we are particularly good at time travel,
but really only in one direction. We can, and should,
start to look forward-further and more often than we do.
Many potters define their work by how it differs from industrially made work. For example, the industrial pot is seen as flawless, boring, identical, sterile, cheap, safe and lacking a personal connection to the user. This critical definition goes back to William Morris' 19th-century attack on industrialization and his subsequent championing of craft.
November 30, 2008
The Robin Hopper Collection
Robin Hopper is the author of three of the most highly acclaimed books for the studio potter: The Ceramic Spectrum, Functional Pottery and Making Marks. These three comprehensive books form the core of any ceramic art library because they exhaustively cover three critical areas for the ceramic artist or potter: color development, design and surfaces.
November 13, 2008
Functional Pottery
This book includes images of work by potters from around the world working
with functional pottery. It also includes a wide range of illustrations
of objects drawn from many of the world's major museums. Not only is
this book the most informative written on the subject of functional
pottery and its design and aesthetic, but the illustrations of both
historical and contemporary objects put the equivalent of a museum and
art gallery at your fingertips. Full of information and practical tips,
it is an invaluable reference that should be in every potter's studio.
