CUT&FOLD

Impossible shapes built out of triangular slabs

The concept

Lattice structures in high rise buildings, harbor and construction cranes, bridges… they all inspire the shapes in this collection.

The pieces play with the observer. Depending on the point of view, they tilt towards different directions, crossing boundaries between functional ceramics, design, and sculpture.

The glazes used in these series are chosen so that they let the shape of the piece stand out through the different levels of light and shade captured by each flat face.



The PROCESS

The creative process follows an engineering alike methodology. Designs are modeled with 3D software to obtain the exact shapes of the triangular faces. Each face contour is printed and the paper templates are used as stencils to cut triangular clay slabs, which are meticulously assembled by hand.

Once the triangles are assembled together and after several days of slow drying, the fragile bone dry piece is carefully hand sanded until the smooth surface and sharp edge signature finishes are attained. Then, the piece is bisque fired, glazed and finally fired to 1240 degrees Celsius.

The process of hand making one of these pieces from clay is quite more elaborate than the cut and fold method, however the resulting piece’s flat faces and tidy edges playfully resemble a cut and fold paper sculpture. The outcome is a combination of precision and imperfections, accuracy and uniqueness.

For some pieces an original mold is made from a bisque fired piece, in order to reproduce the same shape with thinner walls with the slip casting technique.