Most people think of clay and art as rustic sculpture or pottery bowls. But now even the centuries-old material of clay is moving in to the technological age with Ballarat artists and educators taking part in a two-day workshop learning how to design and print clay objects on a 3D printer.
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The workshop from Alterfact, an experimental design studio created by Lucile Sciallano and Ben Landau in 2014, married together digital and clay.
The digital aspects included open source and free access programs for designing digital 3D models, 3D scanning handmade models, the preparation of the model for printing and the hardware required to print (the 3D printer itself), while the clay side covered different types of clay, their preparation for printing, the printing itself and drying and handling the objects created.
The two sides merged to create items the group designed on the computer and printed from clay.
Ballarat Tech School director Sofia Fiusco said a dozen artists, teachers and tech school staff had taken part in the workshop, which had been linked to the school via the National Gallery of Victoria.
“Traditionally we think of 3D printing and plastic but to have had that experience with clay expands the whole creative repertoire of what they do,” Ms Fiusco said.
Some participants came to the workshop with digital skills but not so much art and clay, while others came with a more artistic background but without the digital skills.
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