Rendering (Plant)

3D Rendering and printing is super cool. It is much like making pots for all of those "I don't want to get dirty" types (just kidding) but it is a fascinating way of building and thinking about space. I am always a big advocate of knowing exactly what you are going to make before going into the studio. I know a lot of people like to go in and play, but for me I like to have every object and step in the process laid out. I think it makes a better final product. 3D rendering is the same thing, Plan things out, consider things carefully then execute. 
Here at Alfred, Carlo Sammarco has been teaching a series of very popular 3D rendering classes and is producing a lot of interesting things. 



This is borrowed from Yanko Design. Talking about the Martinus Teapot by famous designer Art Lebedev.

If you are the sort of person that’s got their fingers in the 3D rendering world, you might know about computer graphics researcher Martin Newell. In 1975 he took it upon himself to digitize his own Melitta teapot. Since then the teapot has become a common symbol, a basic project for every 3D object worker and designer. What Art Lebedev studio’s done here is to take that concept, that teapot, and push it back into the real. Red, green, blue, and alpha.
Below you’ll see a bunch of little rectangles showing their search for the correct number of polygons, then take a peek at the final product. Or look at the pics in any order you want, too, I suppose.
Lemme tell you how much I want this pot: I don’t drink coffee. I want this pot. I want this pot so much. It’s just lovely.

Artistic Director: Artemy Lebedev
Art Director: Timur Burbayev
Designer: Yevgeny Kazantsev
Industrial Designer: Lin Tao
Modeler: Alexander Pozdeyev
Visualizator: Dmitry Dolgikh

It's a Gas

When I look at this Gas Mask Shower Head by Chris Domino. I can't not help but think of home and the wonderfully terrifying nightmares there in. And that warm and fuzzy feeling that no matter how hard you scrub, you can never feel clean again...




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You Like Us! You Really Like Us!

I know that a lot of people say they never read their reviews, I call shenanigans. Maybe it is just me but I think that we all care about what people think about what we do. Especially when we get praise. It is exceptionally Pavlovian to seek out those good reviews. The great thing about Porcelain for the People is that the good reviews are easy to find because we have yet to have anything less than a glowing review.  Today we have a great one from Beth over a About.Com:Pottery.

Review of "Porcelain for the People" Clay

 

4 1/2 Stars

 

The Bottom Line

Bottom line, this is a great high-fire porcelain clay body. It is easy to work with on the wheel and handbuilding. The color is a beautiful pure, warm white. It has an incredible firing range (cone 7 - 12, although the manufacturer says it is best at cone 10).

Manufacturer's Site

Pros

• Extremely responsive clay body; elastic without losing strength or becoming sticky.
• Beautiful bright white color, just ever so slightly on the warm side.

 

Cons

• I wish they had a mid-range version. This clay is high-fire, cone 7 to 12.

 

Description

• True porcelain clay body, not white stoneware. Fires a lovely, just slightly warm white in oxidation.
• Workability is incredible. Elastic, strong, and responsive. Not stiff or sticky like most porcelain bodies.
• Firing range is from cone 7 to cone 12, with cone 10 being optimum.
• Packaged in 30 pound "sausages." A smaller sample package is also available.
  

Matt and Dave's Clays has a definite winner here. This porcelain is the most responsive and elastic porcelain clay body I've used in years, if not ever. True porcelain bodies (as opposed to white stoneware and low-fire clay bodies) has an extremely strong tendency to be stiff and rather unresponsive on the wheel. Porcelain for the People feels and throws like butter...a truly sensuous experience, especially for someone who is used to other porcelain clays. This clay body didn't happen by accident, either. Matt Katz, Dave Finkelnburg, and Bill Carty are the ceramic engineers (who love pottery and clay art) who comprise Matt and Dave's Clays LLC. In their own words, "Utilizing ceramic engineering we can create bodies that are more rugged, yet responsive to the maker." 

 Cool, Thanks Beth! BTW we do have a Mid Temperature Body (The Coup!)...that is coming soon, I promise.

I also wanted to talk about a few things. There was a discussion that came to my attention over the weekend that presented some questions about our clay. The big question presented was about Filter pressing and Formula. Someone asked as to why we don't disclose our formula? They had asked that if the filter pressing made our body so great then why don't we provide the formula?

We have prided ourselves in providing every single piece of information and analysis that we have generated about our body. In that we have gone above and beyond what any other clay maker has to document the performance and science behind our body. We have done that to give you, the user everything you need to make the most out of our body in your studio. We have created a premium body that performs with flying colors in a wide variety of applications that has never been seen in a Porcelain. That is why we call it the Porcelain that works like a Stoneware. It is the science behind it that makes it so durable and versatile.



Our body is great for two reasons 1) The Filter Press and 2) The Formula. We worked for over 3 years to get the formula to it's amazing state. The science behind it cost us a lot of time and a lot of money. Because of that we are unable to share it. 

Much like the fact that you as a consumer don't have the formula to Coke, Oreo's, or KFC, it not because the company does not want you to try to make it at home. It is because they are a business and they can't allow their competitors to copy them and make money off of their hard work. 

It is true that no one else is producing clay in the filter press, but if they had our formula there is nothing we could do to stop them. They are so big and we are so small that they would put us right out of business. 

I do honestly wonder, and please feel free to respond in the comment section, what information that people believe they would gain if they had the formula? Honestly, as a ceramicist I can not think of anything I would gain if I had the formula for a boxed clay I was using. Glaze fit? That  can not be predicted based on the formula, and we have published our thermal expansion data. Something else?


If there is something that we have forgotten to document, please tell us and we will do what we can to share that information. We have prided ourselves in being as open and honest as possible and we hope that our efforts are valuable to you. As a company, there is one big line that we can't cross, but we want as much as possible to be on the table.


We are proud of what we have created. we believe that it is the best Porcelain that you have ever used. If you aren't a porcelain user, you should give us a try because this is unlike any clay you have ever used. 

We think that the reviews speak for themselves


Emily Schroeder


Kathy King


Jim Gottuso

Ginny Gromer and Heidi Fahrenbacher

Atlanta Clay



Give the Clay a try and we think you will find that our clays are the best you have ever used.

1-2-3-4 I declare a Ware War

Ok, This has now gone much too far. First it was the baked Cup Lid. Which was cute and functional and we all had a good laugh. Then the was the Cookie Cup, which was treading on our toes a little to heavily. Now it has come to this.

Formafantasma (Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin) have created an entire line of baked dinnerware for Dutch Design Week. I am just aghast. My blood is boiling so viciously that I can not form coherent thought. 

All these bakers think they are sooooooo witty. That because they know food, that that gives them the right to know dinner ware. BACK OFF! Why don't you head back to your kitchens and proof some yeast. Sheesh! Who do these people think they are?

 What is the worst offense? They are using our own tools against us! Check this out!

A slipcast mold! OMG.


Bastards (Battards!)


Oh yeah, "Bread can do anything" "Laddy Da, Laddy Da" Yeah well you know what bread can't do? Dinnerware....

...or shoes. Definitely not shoes....



Link 


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Talk Amongst Yourselves

Hi All,

So, you all know that I am not one to hold my tongue. So this may piss you off, but at the end of the day I really don't care. Like me, or hate me. I'll sleep tonight. So here goes. You all suck at communicating.

Now I am not specifically talking about this blog, y'all are pretty good with the feedback. What I am talking about is communicating with each other in a greater sense. So to say that I have been shocked at the lack of a good ceramics message boards. I don't know about you, but I love the message board format. It is a great way to trade information and experience and to great a real community. I use them for every other interest of mine, except ceramics, because I have never found a decent one.

So now I am going to piss of some of you a whole lot.

I know that there is one forum on the internet, not to be named , that sucks beyond belief! It is a horrible board. The format is out dated and it  is impossible to search, our use. In fact This board is so out of date I remember a story from a few years ago that the hosts wanted to convert it to a message board format and the users protested and kept it in their poor format. You know what. If people like that, good for them. I can't stand it.

Which brings us to a new option. Pottery Chat. Pottery chat is a brand new ceramics message board that was founded but Jason Fasi. and it provides the more accessible message board format.

Now, the board is brand new, so it dosen't have a lot of members, but as a message board. It is up to us in the community to make something of it. So if everyone stops by and registers, me may be able to start a new dialog, Wouldn't that be nice?

But the catch is, you can't stop by just today. You need to go tomorrow and next week and again and again. And post questions, post responses. Start a dialog.

Y'all are not just Islands, you are an Archipelago.  

So I demand that you go and chat.

Pottery Chat

Cut (it) Out

As we have discussed, shelves are important part of the ceramic relationship. No matter how much we love our pots and art, the fact is that they sit on the shelf 99.99% of the time. In fact, Mrs. Rose and I are currently dealing with this problem. As all of our art that has been in storage for many years is now emerging, we have discovered that we still don't have enough shelf space. Even though the house is filled with built-ins, it is not enough to give all the work it's due. So we are contemplating what kind of shelving we really want to show off the work. It is quite a quandary.

These particular shelves are made by Susan Bradley are pretty cute. But my question is, "If you have the pots, do you really need the shelves?"

But she does have some neat other designs, and I really like the outdoor wallpaper. 

Of course with many things I am just stretching the definition of Ceramics in the blog. So that I can post these other cut out fire screens that Mrs. Rose dug up. They are too fun and wicked. 

I Banish Thee Spammers to the Pits of Hell

Hi All,

Just a heads up. I'm turning off anonymous commenting. The blog has been hit with spam and I have no patience for that
Sorry, blame the losers for not playing nice.

Since everyone is going to have to register now. This would be a great time for you to become a follower of this blog. The Link is just off to the right. I only need 5 more to reach 100 followers, so it would be great if you would do that for me.

Thanks,

The Official Teapot of the Art Stream Gallery

We have got to get Allegahny and Andy one of these!

If you don't know the Artstream Nomadic Gallery.You have got to see it.

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Link

Get your research on!

The V & A in London is so awesome, Not only did they just open their new ceramics gallery, but they have just posted an online gallery with over a million pieces from their collection. All beautifully displayed and easily accessible. 

Awesome! So freaking awesome!

Thanks to Mrs. Rose for the Heads Up.

Why The Long Plate?

Maxime Ansiau created these long plates. Unfortunately I don't know much about the maker (European, Yes, Male/Female, No Idea). But they are beautiful, well made and an engaging concept.

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Maxime's Site

Fire- The Bad Kind

Hey All,
I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to put up any posts today. There was a fire in Alfred this morning, everyone is ok, but it hit us pretty close. It was the Alfred Sports Center that burned and that place was important to us. Mrs, Rose used to work there and our old place was rented from Phil and Len Curran  who own the Sports Center.

Also Ro's old co-workers Tara and Trina are now out of a job. If you are reading this in the Alfred Area and have work for them please let me know. They are great people who I will completely vouch for and this is a horrible thing to happen to them.

Alfred is a small town and something like this effects everyone.

Here are some pictures I took of the event.

Image of the Burn from the Wellsville Daily Reporter

Click and Clack

German Designer Lisa Grahner came up with these pristine modular pieces titled the Click Series. Yes they are cold and industrial, but they are also extremely sexy. I just hope those magnets are strong.

They were shown at Strijp-S Exhibition during Dutch Design Week.

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Her Site

You know what? F#$& you too...

Ok I censored myself because I know that a lot of other blogs carry the headlines from my blog on their pages. But be warned. The rest of this post I'm going to be working blue.


Kenny Scharf, Fuck you. It is dickheads like you that keep ceramics from being taken seriously. When artists from outside the ceramics world step in an make ceramic objects that are A) Stupid, B) Ugly and C) Pointless, you drag us down with you. 


You see Mr. Scharf has just released a line of Bongs that he is selling in the Cerealart Gallery in Philadelphia.


Oh, look at me, I'm so clever. I'm so Urban. I'm so fucking Ironic...FUCK YOU!


You are a pompous, condescending and artistically illiterate douchebag, and your work is ugly and outdated.  The 80's called and they want the dis-effected irony back.


Now, to the ceramics people that are still reading. This does not mean that you are all off the hook for the lack of respect that ceramics gets in the art world. We dug our own hole and it is our job to get out of it ("Dig Up, Stupid!") And don't give me the "I don't want to be a member of that club" nonsense. This is about respect, and we need to garner respect for and of the art community. End of story. 

None the less, this is shit. 


I'm not going to post links. If you care, you can find it yourself.

Double Dribble

The rest of the world is finally confronting a problem that we have been dealing with for years. "How do you get a teapot not to dribble?"  A team of Fluid Dynamicists  from the University of Lyon have discovered a way to interrupt the hydro-capillary behavior of water that is the cause of the problem. Part of their solution is something that we have all know for years, like building a thinner lip with a sharp edge. But the second part of their solution is pretty cool. Of course it does lead to the common ceramics question. "Is that food safe?"

Here is the article from the M.I.T. Technology Review.

Teapot technology is largely ignored by mainstream media (some say unfairly). But today, scientists in France unveil a technique that should breath hi-tech life into a new generation of bespouted objects. 


The problem with teapots is their annoying habit of dribbling, particularly at low rates of flow. The phenomenon has achieved such notoriety that it has been imaginatively dubbed the "teapot effect". 


Previous studies have shown that dribbling is the result of flow separation where the layer of fluid closest to the boundary becomes detached from it. When that happens, the fluid flows smoothly over the lip. But as the flow rate decreases, the boundary layer re-attaches to the surface causing dribbling.


Previous studies have shown that a number of factors effect this process such as the radius of curvature of the teapot lip, the speed of the flow and the "wettability" of the teapot material. But a full understanding of what's going on has so far eluded scientists.


Now Cyril Duez at the University of Lyon in France and a few amis, have identified the single factor at the heart of the problem and shown how to tackle it. They say that the culprit is a "hydro-capillary" effect that keeps the liquid in contact with the material as it leaves the lip. The previously identified factors all determine the strength of this hydro-cappillary effect.


So how to overcome it? There are two ways say Duez and co. The first is to make the lip as thin as possible. That's why teapots with spouts made from thin metal are less likely to dribble.


The second is to coat the lip with the latest generation of superhydrophobic materials which strongly repel water. Duez and co show how this stops dribbling at a stroke. "Superhydrophobic surfaces fully avoid dripping, and thus beat the "teapot effect"," they say.


(Of course, there are one or two other potential applications in shaping the fluid flow in microfluidic machines but these pale into insignificance compared with the teapot revolution in hand.)


The really exciting news, however, is that in certain materials the hydro-capillary effect can be controlled electronically. That raises the possibility of a teapot design in which dribbling can be turned on and off with the flick of a switch--an object of desire on a par with the iPhone, USB catapaults and personal hovercrafts. (The iPot , perhaps?)


If this doesn't win these guys an IgNobel, I don't know what will.


Thanks to Darren P. for the heads up!


Link

Everything in ceramcis has now been made, you can all go home now...

Sorry folks. I have now come across the most meta and unnecessary thing in Ceramics. I can't think of anything that ever needs to be made again. I guess we all wasted our time...


I present to you... the toilet mug.

Do I need to say anything else?

Have a good weekend.


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