2021 Melting Pottery

Melting Pottery employs computational design and 3D-printed clay to generate mix-and-match collections of vases that showcase and celebrate the diversity of our community

Melting pottery is a project about connecting different people and cultures—just as ancient civilizations did when they traded goods overseas—through the design of ceramic vessels. The multifaceted, collaborative project employs the precision and technology of 3D-printing to focus on the unexpected results that occur when cultures cross-pollinate. Every modular vessel in the collection has two parts, which are always joined by a standard, 30cm circle. The consistency of this joint led to a collection of interchangeable artifacts, designed to reflect the exchange and influence that takes place when cultures interact.

Created during the global pandemic, when travel was restricted, we arranged for a series of virtual workshops, led by computational designer Andrea Graziano, using Grasshopper parametric software. During the workshops, MFA students and faculty designed collections of vases inspired by traditional vessels from their home cultures, embedding aspects of cultural identity within each one. The parametric software allowed workshop participants to visualize and consider a wide range of possibilities, focusing on formal and aesthetic choices that most clearly conveyed their intentions.

Following the virtual workshops, the vases were fabricated in Italy by ceramicist Bruno Demasi, using a 3D-printer custom-built by him for the project. Each vase component was printed in terracotta, allowed to dry, and then fired in a kiln. Each workshop participant designed a collection of three vases; one vase from each collection was glazed white, and the other two retain the raw quality of the terracotta clay.

Melting Pottery vases were exhibited at the Circolo del Design, in Turin; at the Munlab Clay Ecomuseum, in Cambiano; in the Rosana Orlandi Gallery, during Milan Design Week; and at M7, Msheireb, in Doha, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.