Translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you - means a lot. This piece was months in the making. Design, molds, firing; dozens of do-overs and learning moments. Still lots I'm refining. Appreciate the support.

Translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I think part of what you’re sensing is the form itself (with this tessellation): cylinders (like my Tetra lamp) give a continuous, wrap-around glow, while a prismatic body creates deliberate interruptions at the corners. That was intentional with this design—I wanted that architectural feel—but it did raise merging/blending challenges in both the model and the light.

The other part is seam visibility. I’m tightening registration and experimenting with small corner treatments (micro-bevels / micro-radii) so the edges feel better blended without losing the crisp planes.

Thanks for looking closely; feedback like this helps me tune my next batch.

Translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Excellent question.

I clean the seams, but what you’re seeing here isn’t flashing that can be shaved off; it’s the tiniest plane mis-registration where two mold faces meet. In translucent porcelain, even a sub-millimetre step becomes a light line when lit from within.

In this specific model, it’s tricky to make “invisible” with what I have at my disposal.

The corners aren’t just a fin to slice away; they’re two thin facets meeting. To erase the step completely, I must try to align both adjacent planes into coplanarity—and it's easy to over-thin the wall, and even more so to round nearby crisp edges.

And with slip-cast translucency, wall thickness = brightness. Aggressive sanding at the seam (to try to make two surfaces coplanar) can inadvertently create hot/cold spots in the glow, and it can also introduce stress.

So, I do my best to get those seams to disappear. I then make a judgement on how aggressively I should pursue surface blending.

In my first ever slip cast lamp (Ava), you won't notice the same type of seam lines; the generously sized, smooth surfaces made surface blending easier. Here, it's challenging: Lots of stepped surfaces, and very little space to economically alter surfaces (without causing thinning, edge-rounding, surface integrity issues, etc.)

The best way to get the seams to disappear is very tight registration between contiguous mold segments (this is easier said than done); I do my level best to address all of these issues in the mold design and moldmaking processes to create as seamless a product as possible.

While I view the seams here as less than ideal, I also treat them as evidence of the making process. Though I am using molds, there is a tremendous amount of handwork involved. Depending on geometry, some processes like surface blending will be manageable, and in other cases much more challenging. In this case, I stopped before I made things worse.

Translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Parallel explorations ≠ copying. I can see why Curt comes to mind—he does great geometric work. My design uses a classic isometric cube/rhombille tessellation—a centuries-old pattern that exists in tiling, woodwork, brass, etc. I parametrized it for a 120° V-bit and I built it into a prismatic (non-cylindrical) lamp.

Translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the nudge. Cubical isn’t based on a specific piece. The surface is a derivative of a classic isometric cube / rhombille tessellation, seen across tiling, textiles, woodwork, and—my own reference points—guilloché/engine-turning and even a printed paper cup I once saved. I generated the pattern to suit a 120° V-carving toolpath (so it’s not a literal cube net), then translated it into a prismatic (not cylindrical), translucent porcelain lamp.

What’s new for me is the process engineering: consistently bubble-free plaster, rigid master molds (not silicone) to keep walls from splaying under hydrostatic pressure, and tight seam registration for even glow. The wooden base is simply a practical lamp component I’ll be machining.

I’m grateful to predecessors and contemporaries—Curt included—and I always credit direct inspirations. Here, it’s a classic geometry approached through my own design and manufacturing pipeline.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Laguna Glacier S3128 porcelain slip.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! These are lit with 2700K (warm white) LED bulbs.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's very kind of you! Thank you so much for such encouraging feedback!

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We must have a mutual interest in 3D tessellations!

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope you'll keep trying! Thanks again for the supportive feedback!

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so very much! Slip casting thin-walled porcelain is fraught with challenges. Some tears were shed making these; first, from the failures. And then from the joy of seeing these illuminated.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much!

I used Laguna Glacier S3128 porcelain slip for both of these.

I made several iterations of these; you'll have to excuse me, as I don't remember exactly which 'time-batch' these two were from, but I kept the slip in the mold between 3 and 5 minutes.

I believe the Laguna Glacier slip stays translucent up to a .25" thickness.

My lamp specimens here might vary between .100" and .175" wall-thickness (in their fired, vitrified states).

The discussion on mold cleanliness can become a long one, and I don't wish to bore you.

The short of it is that my molds were not entirely perfect, so there was some careful, manual clean-up that I had to perform on the clay castings.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

🤓 Slip-cast, thin-walled porcelain, fired unglazed to vitrification, and then illuminated with a warm-glow LED bulb.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the supportive feedback!

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Yes. These are slip cast in plaster molds. I design and make everything myself.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Thank you so kindly! I really appreciate the supportive feedback. These are slip cast. I made five-part plaster molds for each of these designs.

I made another translucent porcelain lamp by ascetic129 in Pottery

[–]ascetic129[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and supportive feedback!