VESSELS OF COMMUNICATION

I have recently been working in the 3D printing world, developing an innovative porcelain-like ceramic material with MIT engineer Stuart Uram. The material is a self-setting ceramic slip that has been developed to work in 3D-printed PLA and rubber molds. It sets up in four hours and can be placed in the kiln the same day and fired like traditional ceramics. The product was launched by the startup company Shapeways in 2015. Shapeways is a premiere 3D printing company based in New York City, where I lived and worked for many years.

I use the porcelain-like material to create artwork using 3D printed molds. My first series in this new direction is a collection of ceramic books.

The books are inspired by the idea that cuneiform tablets were some of the first clay objects intended to pass along information. Humankind's ability to move large amounts of information has now led to the ability to 3D print. These books are an expression of how much information we can now transfer through various mediums. While the processes are always changing, humankind continues to develop ways to pass information through time.

The books are made out of varying numbers of loops that have been duplicated and combined. These are abstract references to loops of information, representative of circuits. The title of each piece refers to the number of digital loops that it took to make each book.

The idea for this project was also inspired by my wife’s career as a literary agent. She reads many manuscripts and helps writers to send their books into world.