My work uses ancient pottery techniques blended with the convenience of digital bits and bytes. Pottery has been a part of human life since ancient times, and coil building techniques in particular have been around for more than 4,000 years. In contrast, the popularity of 3D printing started to take off only ten years ago. These techniques seem like natural friends despite the large time gap in their comparative histories. 3D printing takes both pottery artwork and functional items to a place where ancient methods are not able to go while keeping the original spirit of the art. I enjoy monitoring the build process, seeing detailed shapes resembling mushrooms, shells, and cones emerge from the wet porcelain and stoneware. Some of the shapes seem other-worldly, but much of the processes such as preparing the clay by hand, glazing, and firing the pieces in a kiln, are familiar to any traditional potter. It is difficult to predict what the future has in store for this medium, almost as if the strands of clay coil upwards and away, out of sight.
