Ceramic Handbook
Topic outline
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Conducting research through practice, has a relatively long tradition in Aalto University. Ceramics has been part of this developing research field throughout its history in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture (previously known as Taideteollinen korkeakoulu), Aalto University. For supporting future work, we have here selected an example of art and research projects and suggested readings for getting insights on how ceramics has been contributing for creating new ways of understanding the world and culture we live in through the practices of art and research. The projects selected here are conducted within Aalto University, School of Arts and Design and Architecture in collaboration with a wider network of other stakeholders and partners. The selected reading suggestions are collected as a starting point to discover the practice and philosophy within ceramics.
Selected Research projects in Aalto ARTS
The selected projects show how wide the field of ceramics is and give examples of how ceramics can facilitate different platforms with looking into traditional hand crafted products in China to creating new business opportunities with the novel pairing of reindeer bone porcelain with clay 3D printing. In addition, clay as a natural material has a direct connection to soil: the ground we walk upon and through this, the topical issues of human traces in our environment can be elevated with the use of craft practices. The field of ceramics can also be used as a platform that connects different stakeholders from technology, museums, universities to individuals with the passion for ceramics.
Traces from the Anthropocene: Working with Soil
In the artistic research project Traces from the Anthropocene: Working with Soil, ceramic practitioners used methods of soil contamination research together with their skill and knowledge in the area of ceramic art to study anthropogenic contamination in the soil and sediments of the Venice Lagoon area. The project was carried out by craft researchers in the area of ceramic art from Aalto University in collaboration with soil contamination experts from the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). The research group consisted of craft researchers, ceramic artists and student-assistants. The project took place before and during the Research Pavilion event which was managed by Helsinki University of the Arts’ Academy of Fine Arts in the context of the 2019 Venice Biennale.
First, the craft researchers gathered soil and sediment samples from sites which they selected according to existing environmental research of the Lagoon area. The samples were carefully analysed for heavy metals in Aalto University’s Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Laboratory. Then, the craft researchers used their ceramics expertise when examining the soil materials. They grounded the contaminated soil and sediment samples into fine clay slips. The slips were fired onto sample pieces to help understand how the composition of soil affects the colour, surface or melting process. Then, they employed the soils as materials for artistic production: they used the slips as ceramic paints on large vessel forms built from clay from the local fields of Veneto.
The research group worked for two months at the Research Pavilion. The vessel forms were built using the primitive coiling technique. The audience was invited to work with local brick clay alongside the artists. The samples, maps, research diaries, studio practice and work in progress formed a material narrative which was used to engage the audience in discussions about the environmental concerns. Also, a discursive event where soil contamination was discussed was organised. During the process of producing objects from soil materials which have been contaminated over the course of centuries, the artist-researchers contemplated how humans become with their environment and how the materiality of soil changes through human actions.
Figure 1. Sediment sampling in Porto Marghera. Image: Pauliina Purhonen 2019.
More information:
https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/474888/519616
http://empirica.aalto.fi/projects/working-with-soil/
https://www.designmuseum.fi/en/soil-matters/
Related publications:
https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/697190/697191
https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/aisthesis/article/view/10916
24 Vases in 24 days: Vases created in Jingdezhen, the birthplace of porcelain in China
Six design students and three teachers specialized in ceramics from Aalto University, Department of Design travelled to Jingdezhen, China, the source and birthplace of porcelain manufacturing in March 2018.
Their task was to design and produce unique vases. The works were made on the spot during a 24 days workshop, in the ceramic studio reserved for visiting international artists provided by Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute. The students worked each on their own design, cooperating with local craftsmen: throwers, trimmers, kiln masters as well as porcelain painters.
The project was commissioned by Aalto Executive Education. 12 of the vases ended up in its art collection.
Figure 2. Group of Aalto University students with their finished vases in front of the studio in Jingdezhen, China. Image: Priska Falin, 2018.Students: Saija Halko, Nikolo Kerimov, Matias Liimatainen, Maria Punkkinen, Collin Velkoff and Man Yau
Teachers: Nathalie Lautenbacher, Priska Falin, Tomi Pelkonen
Link for a documentary film presenting the working experiences in China, Jingdezhen during 2018:
Ceramics and its dimension
This European collaboration ran during the years 2014–2018 and was funded by the Creative Europe program. In this project, museums, universities and other stakeholders connected to the field of ceramics joined together to explore and show what ceramics has been and its future possibilities to a wider audience throughout Europe.
Aalto University coordinated one of its 10 different sub projects called: Shaping the Future. This sub-project consisted of a student workshop in KAHLA porcelain factory, Germany, A touring exhibition and a publication.
Figure 3. Work by: Babette Wiezorek, GER: The EXEX extruded extensions, 2016, porcelain, wood, 3D printed cylinders attached to precast objects in various sizes. Image: Chikako Harada, 2016.
More information:
http://futureceramics.aalto.fi/
https://www.facebook.com/CeramicsEU/
http://ceramicsanditsdimensions.eu/
Some Interviews that were done during the project:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwUKlN9tjF9eNnUHYSkcx8g/videos
Pdf version of the Shaping the Future publication can be downloaded here:
3DKERA
3DKERA is a project that investigates the use of Reindeer bone china with 3D printing. The aim is to bring out new business opportunities in Finland. The basis for the project has been in developing the reindeer bone porcelain to be used in additive manufacturing processes such as extrusion 3D-printing and also more recently for the use of stereolithographic (SLA) printing where the ceramic materials are mixed with photopolymers.
This project is collaboratively led by two different Schools in Aalto University: Department of Design in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture and Mechanical Engineering in the School of Engineering. The collaboration brings together the knowhow in material development in ceramics and the focus on developing the 3D-printers to suit the aims of the project as well the material needs.
Figure 4. Clay 3D-printed objects that explore different shapes, materials and printing settings. Image: Nur Horsanali, 2019.
More information:
http://empirica.aalto.fi/projects/3dkera/
Articles:
https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/utilizing-local-reindeer-bone-waste-from-lapland-in-ceramics
https://www.sompio.fi/uutiset/3dtulostus-avaa-mahdollisuuksia-poronluun-paikalliselle-hyodyntamiselle-6.184.1730332.520a9839e8Reading suggestions
In this list of selected readings, you can find books and articles as well some work done in Aalto University that are connected to ceramics. This is a small selection that gives you a starting point where you can begin your exploration. More publications produced in Aalto University can be found in Aaltodoc (aaltodoc.aalto.fi).
Selection of Books about Ceramics
Beittel, K. R. (1992/ 1989). Zen and the Art of Pottery. Weatherhill.
De Waal, E. (2016). The White Road: Journey into an Obsession. Picador.
De Waal, E. (2010). The Hare with Amber Eyes: a hidden inheritance. Random house.
Elderton, L. & Morrill, R. (2017). Vitamin C: Clay + Ceramics in Contemporary Art. Phaidon.
Kalha, H. (1996). Ruukuntekijästä multimediataiteilijaan: Suomalaisen keraamikon ammatillinen ja taiteellinen identiteetti. Taideteollinen korkeakoulu.
Lautenbacher, N. (2020). Kantava maa -Solid Ground. Aalto ARTS Books.
Leppänen, H. (2003). Ruukun runoutta ja materiaalin mystiikkaa: sata vuotta keramiikkataiteen opetusta ja tutkimusta. Taideteollinen korkeakoulu.
Peterson, S. (1981/1974). Shoji Hamada: A Potter’s Way and Work. Kodansha International LTD.
Richerson, D. W. (2012). The Magic of Ceramics. John Wiley & Sons.
Stouffer, H. (2016). The New Age of Ceramics. Gingko Press.
Sutherland, B. (2005). Glazes from Natural Sources. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Examples of Doctoral dissertations
in Aalto University, FinlandBerg, A. (2014). Artistic Research in Public Space. Participation in material-based art. (aalto.fi)
Groth, C. (2017). Making sense through hands : design and craft practice analysed as embodied cognition (aalto.fi)
Mäkelä, M. (2003). Saveen piirtyviä muistoja: Subjektiivisen luomisprosessin ja sukupuolen representaatioita [Memories in clay: Representations of subjective creation and gender]. Helsinki: Taideteollinen korkeakoulu.
Examples of Master's thesis
in Aalto University, FinlandChen, T. (2020). Soil care: Symphony rehearsal (aalto.fi)
Cortés Reina, C. (2019). Moving bodies (aalto.fi)
Halko, S. (2019). Arkisto-sarja / Pohdintaa keramiikan piensarjatuotannosta (aalto.fi)
Horsanali, N. (2019). Digitalization meets improvisation: Developing a personal way of dealing with the rising digital presence in design (aalto.fi)
Huhtakallio, K-M. (2017). Hiljainen kertomus – [Oma]kuvia tunteista ja merkityksistä (aalto.fi)
Kayis, E. (2017). Dialogue and compromise: Experimentation with ceramics in glassblowing process (aalto.fi)
Luo, J. (2019). A shelf made of ceramic: material exploration of using ceramic in furniture design (aalto.fi)
Ono, A. (2013). Fields of blue (aalto.fi)
Pehkonen, L. (2014). Fanfaari -keraaminen kollaasi (aalto.fi)
Saarelainen, T. (2019). Kylässä - Journey of reflections on designer's identity (aalto.fi)
Tolvanen, I. (2017). Food waste stories: Ceramic experiments (aalto.fi)
Wang, M. (2015). Into surface (aalto.fi)
Articles
Berg, A. & Sirowy-Estkowska, B. (2012). The materiality of art in knowledge production [Paper presentation]. Art of Research 2012 conference: Making, Reflecting, Understanding. Helsinki, Finland.
Bunnell, K. (2004). Craft and digital technology. Keynote speech. In: World Craft Council 40th Annual Conference, Metsovo, Greece. http://repository.falmouth.ac.uk/537/
Elbrecht, C. & Antcliff, L. R. (2014). Being touched through touch. Trauma treatment through haptic perception at the Clay Field: A sensorimotor art therapy. International Journal of Art Therapy, 19:1 pp. 19-30. DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2014.880932
Falin, P. & Oksanen, P. (In press). Ceramic pebbles as sensory tools: exploring the quality of muteness in tactile experience. Proceedings of Art of Research 2020 conference.
Falin, P., Horsanali, N., Hansen, F. T. & Mäkelä, M. (In press). Practitioners’ Experience in Clay 3D Printing: Metaphorical viewing for gaining embodied understanding. Proceedings of BICCS2021 conference.
Falin, P. (2014). Connection to materiality: Engaging with ceramic practice. Ruukku: Studies in Artistic Research, 2. https://doi.org/10.22501/ruu.44836
Falin, P. & Falin, P. (2014). Making and Perceiving: Exploring the degrees of engagement with the aesthetic process. In: Y-k. Lim, K. Niedderer, J. Redström, E. Stolterman and A. Valtonen (Eds.) Proceedings of DRS2014: Design’s big debates, pp. 1612-1625.
Groth, C., Mäkelä, M., Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, P. & Kosonen, K. (2014). Tactile Augmentation: Reaching for tacit knowledge. In: Y. Lim, K. Niedderer, J. Redström, E. Stolterman, & A. Valtonen (Eds.). (2014). Proceedings of DRS 2014: Design's Big Debates, pp. 1638-1654.
Gürsoy, B. (2018). From Control to Uncertainty in 3D Printing with Clay. In Kepczynska-Walczak, A. Bialkowski, S. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 36th eCAADe Conference: Computing for a better tomorrow, pp. 21-30.
Hansen, F. T., & Falin, P. (2016). 3D Printing as a Ceramic Craft Tool in Its Own Right. In M. Mäkelä, B. Schmidt, P. Falin and M. Juolahti (Eds.), Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future (pp. 114–128). Helsinki: Aalto University.
Hansen, F. T., & Tamke, M. (2019). A Visual Programming Interface as the Common Platform for Sharing Embodied Knowledge. In N. Nimkulrat, K. Kuusk, J. V. Noronha, C. Groth & O. Tomico (Eds.) Proceedings of EKSIG2019: Knowing Together: Experiential knowledge and Collaboration, pp. 56-70.
Mäkelä, M. (2007). Knowing Through Making: The Role of the Artefact in Practice-led Research. Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 20(3), pp. 157-163.
Mäkelä, M. (2016). Personal exploration: Serendipity and intentionality as altering positions in a creative process. FORMakademisk 9(1), Article 2, pp. 1-12.
Sholt, M. & Gavron, T. (2006). Therapeutic Qualities of Clay-work in Art Therapy and Psychotherapy: A Review. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 23(2), pp. 66-72.
Other useful books
Adamson, G. (2007). Thinking through craft. Berg.
Adamson, G. (2013). The invention of craft. Bloomsbury Academic/V&A Publishing.
Adamson, G. & Bryan-Wilson, J. (2016). Art in the Making: Artists and their Materials from the Studio to Crowdsourcing. Thames & Hudson.
Bennett, J. (2010). Vibrant Matter: a political ecology of things. Duke University Press.
Ingold, T. (2013). Making: Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture. Routledge.
Malafouris, L. (2013). How Things Shape the Mind: A Theory of Material Engagement. The MIT Press.
Ravetz, A., Kettle, A., and Felcey, H. (2013). Collaboration Through Craft. Bloomsbury.
Sennett, R. (2008). The Craftsman. Penguin Books.
Yanagi, S. (2013/1972). The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight into Beauty. Kodansha.