Topo Ceramic Bowl | 2010 | Ceramics + Bamboo Wood
A double-walled hollow-cast ceramic bowl with a flush-mounted bamboo lid. The lid has a playful contoured shape that mimics the bowl's lips. There is a unique shape to the interior of the bowl in which mirrors rice-terrace fields like those across areas in Asia. The unique interior shape reminds its users of where their food comes from, as it is usually harvested by hard-working people and should not be taken for granted. The double-walled constructions keeps its food hot for longer periods of time, reduces exterior heat for better handling, and reduces weight. The use of bamboo gives a nice juxtaposition of materials as well as furthering the symbolic ties with rice terraces and Asian culture.
Conceptual stages started off with drawings then continued into 3d modeling. I then programmed my CNC machine to carve out foam to be used as the first set of molds. Plaster molds were then taken off the foam molds, in which was then hand refined. The final set of molds uses 3 parts: exterior bowl shape, interior stepping shape, and a drain plug at the bottom. There were many trials and errors before I was able to figure out the correct amount of plaster and time needed for each casting. Various ceramic glazes were experimented with in which all gave different results. The lid was CNC profiled, but because of how ceramic shrinks differently, each lid was hand refined to make it flush fit a specific bowl.
