When he was working as a professor at BGSU Balistreri worked with a graduate student who was interested in using a 3D rapid prototype machine, but with clay. Although he was sceptical that this would be successful he became intrigued by the potential of this combination.
They were using a Z-Corp 400 rapid prototype machine, Balistreri explains,
"The printer builds the object using the following steps. First, it disperses a thin layer of powder on a ‘build bed’ after which a printer head similar to an inkjet sprays a binder onto the layer of powder. This binder is spread only where it reads an image from the digital file. This process is repeated layer by layer until a three-dimensional object is created from the digital file. The end result is an object that is surrounded by the powder and held together by the binder. When the layers are completed, the ‘build box’ is lifted from the machine and the unbound powder falls away from the object. Zcorp sells various powders and binders to create an object which is a “prototype” that could then be transferred to any material through traditional mold making techniques."
The article focuses on his experiences using his own ceramic recipes as the powder and binder to create a finished piece, rather than a prototype or model.
"Our process essentially uses plastic clay to make an original (not a prototype) object which then could be used or displayed as the final product. It seemed that most of the research in this area was focused on the concept of the “prototype” and the ceramic work that had been done incorporated exotic materials for very specific uses. However, we are using ceramic materials that could be generically applied to the brick, tile or ceramic production industries to create original ceramic art objects."
"Throughout this process, it has become clear to me that this technology will eventually have a significant impact on the field of ceramics in realms of both commercial and fine art. It is also clear to me that not only have we developed a way to make potentially bad ceramic objects but also a way to make objects that can contribute to the development of our medium technically as well as intellectually. As an educator I am interested in how our innovations will positively contribute to both the field of ceramic art and digital art. What has been described above is basically about a tool for interacting with clay that is new. This is a phenomenon that is very rare indeed. Essentially, contemporary ceramic artists manipulate clay in the same way that it has been done throughout history—forming it with the touch of our hands. Over time we eventually employed innovative technologies such as the wheel and plaster molds, both of which rely on hand manipulation of some type. We have learned to incorporate machinery such as highly pressurized extruders that require one thousand horse power electric motors to push clay through dies, and to use robotics to move clay from place to place such as stacking brick onto car kilns. We have incorporated digital technology to control our firings (e.g., digitally controlled electric kilns, remote monitoring of glaze firings via lap top computer, etc.) even potters wheels now come with digital controls. We can also use digital printing techniques to create imagery on the surfaces of our objects. The process of printing three dimensional objects however is a fundamental change in how we think about creating with clay. This innovation allows the artist to conceive of and create a ceramic object purely from digital information with no physical human contact."
"As an Artist I am interested in how the digital printing process can create a meaningful object. I believe in the basic tenet that art is in the service of the mind and that technique and process are the means to an end. However, I realize that technique and process are deeply connected to how we analyze and value ceramic objects both historically and as contemporary art. As our experiments evolved I began to think about what kind of object would have the most potential to demonstrate the process but also to convey the aesthetic and historical implications raised by the research. I settled on the teabowl to create a provocative convergence of both the digital and analogue world. Of all the possible forms we look at as contemporary ceramic artists the teabowl is perhaps the most iconic. It represents the convergence of function, history, technique and aesthetics as well as the relationship between man and nature. I have been studying and trying to make tea bowls for over twenty five years and continue to be fascinated by every facet of what they are and what they mean as objects. For me they represent the quintessential expression of our impulse to manipulate material into an object of higher meaning. Creating a teabowl using the 3D printer is a provocative statement unique to our time in history. It calls into question many aspects of our aesthetic and historical lexicon by juxtaposing the digital age with long established methodologies."
I have also been looking at creating teabowls by combining rapid prototyping with ceramic. Balstreri explains his reasoning very clearly and conveys the depth of meaning he attaches to teabowls.
Balistreri explains that the other objects they have started to create would have been impossible using existing processes, they do not use moulds and so are freed from restrictions such as undercuts.
Tea bowls, top - thrown, bottom - scanned and digitally printed.
Image and writing available at http://johnbalistreriartist.com/ (accessed on 10/03/09)
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