Geometry in ceramic creations

 Geometry and ceramic? does it exist?

As we have seen in previous posts of this blog, geometry is not an isolated subject. Indeed, it is connected transversely with many other themes and subjects. We saw that geometry was established in many paintings of the renaissance, but can it be connected with other parts of art?

Geometry is for many artists the key point on their creations, for instance, today we will see the connection of geometry with ceramics. 

What does ceramic mean? 

Ceramic is the art or technique of making objects from clay and pottery of all qualities and types.

It is not a new activity that has been published on Instagram, it is an old technique created many years ago, for instance, the Greeks were very well known because of their creations. 

In addition, there was a ceramic style called Geometric Ceramic that consisted of the creation of glasses in old Greek. It was created in Athens, but thanks to their great marine skills they expanded this style. 

Nowadays, we can still find a strong connection between geometry and ceramics. For instance, the artist Joris Link. 

His ceramic creations are compounds of different shapes and structures. He usually repeats the same elements depending on the space, moreover, he tends to create what is similar to a mosaic with those figures.  

In this video, he shows the way he works with porcelain:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15rw9oastlo

He gets inspiration from the imagination, but also he tends to connect with his daily and natural elements. Link creates ceramic from mathematics, nature, molecules and landscapes. He doesn’t create any new shapes but he plays with those ones that already exist.  

Another relevant artist is Rhian Malin 

This artist follows a family tradition that consists of introducing geometric elements to their figures. The principal colour is blue and many of the geometric figures are repeated several times

Not many years ago there was a famous exposition created by the foundation COAM Architecture in Madrid. This exposition gathered the different creations that have had as a guide the geometry. This exposition had five different categories that attended to different geometric shapes ( folded, waving, three-dimensional). 

This collection shows how geometry influences different constructive, spatial and formal aspects depending on how the ceramic piece has been projected. 

Web: https://www.catedraceramica.es/

In order to implement this material in your lessons, you might ask your students to create different geometry shapes by using ceramic. Here there is a simple example of how can you do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVwt8NiXEag

                                                                     References

ASCER RedCátedras Cerámica. (2016). Cátedra Cerámica. https://www.catedraceramica.es/

Smb, D. (2018, 8 marzo). Geometría esencial en la obra del artista Joris Link. Marphil Tienda Cerámica. https://marphil.com/geometria-esencial-joris-link/