User:Pascalle/NOTES

INTRO

For the past few weeks I have worked on a vase. I started by beginning to learn a new skill, plaster turning, The shape I created was turned upside down as it were, in order to form the rounded bottom. Fascinated by this shape, I made a mold out of it, and from that I have made multiple porcelain examples. The vases look heavy but are lighter than expected. The bone white of the porcelain gives the vases a very clean, idealistic, balanced and appeasing look. The vases with lasercuts on them have a machine made uniqueness to them.

During this past quarter I have researched the combination of the labor of love that is ceramics with the hard industrial lines of the laser cutter.

TECHNIQUES

During this past quarter I have researched the combination of the labor of love that is ceramics with the hard industrial lines of the laser cutter.

CERAMICS Learning plaster turning, mould making and working with porcelain

In ceramics, I learned plaster turning, which is when a cylinder of plaster is poured onto a electric turning wheel. By means of different parting tools, small ridges are made into the cylinder, then with a rounded chisel like tool, the ridges are smoothed out. A shape is formed. The shapes are typically round and obviously symmetric. The plaster forms are what is called a “mother form”, because they are the base for the mold making process. Plaster turning became relevant during the early nineteen century. Today it is still used in ceramic factories. Though the processes is not always the same, and varies between companies and countries.

From the form created I made a three piece mould. Mould making and the casting of the objects is a craft in itself. The making of the mould is a work intensive and complicated process, because you need to think in positives and negatives. The mould is a negative and the cast shape is a positive. Moulds have been made for centuries, it is a technique often used to make replica’s of famously known sculptures. As archaeologist Adolf Michaelis wrote in 1884: "such a (cast) museum is as necessary a supplement to archaeological lectures, as a laboratory is to lectures on physics or chemistry." [1]

LASER CUTTER Converting digital 2D to tangible 3D

Even though the laser cutting at first may seem simple, it really isn’t. One size (or better said setup) laser printer does NOT fit all. After doing multiple test to find the right setup, I applied what I learned from my experiments to my ceramic work.

FINAL STATEMENT

The process I have gone through this last quarter is my love tribute to craft. Because even though it seems simplistic and easy, my vase is my labour of love to craft and exploring new techniques. Through this quarter I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge concerning ceramics, plaster molding, plaster turning and working with the laser cutter.