Generations : interpreting Iron Age ceramics
digital ceramics, 2025 - ongoing
This project is a work-in-progress with ceramicist Anna Andersen. Building on our experiments in A pot, we're exploring generative AI as a creative tool in ceramic practice, this time in dialogue with Iron Age vessels from Horsens Museum in Horsens, DK. These ancient pots have been excavated from sites across Horsens Kommune—from the burial site at Hedegård to unexpected finds unearthed during recent construction along the E45 highway. As makers, we are especially interested in Iron Age ceramics; although they may appear simple on the outside they have rich histories. In the Iron Age (500 BC - 400 AD), ceramics often served as both functional and ceremonial objects. They were used in daily life as well as placed in graves as symbolic objects. Clay artifacts from this age in Denmark are rich in variation and regional styles, and are fairly sophisticated for their time in terms of material and design choices.
In this work we use generative AI tools in two ways: "reconstructing" 3D digital interpretations from photographs, and using written text prompts to generate “Iron Age” forms. These AI outputs become digital sketches that guide our design process. We then physically build the vessels using clay 3D printing and hand sculpting, the final step of our working process that blends digital generation, machine work, and handwork. Our goal is to explore how generative AI might help us engage more deeply with histories of making, creating vessels that can honor both the tactile expressions of Iron Age potters as well as our own contemporary digital-physical studio practice.
In this work we use generative AI tools in two ways: "reconstructing" 3D digital interpretations from photographs, and using written text prompts to generate “Iron Age” forms. These AI outputs become digital sketches that guide our design process. We then physically build the vessels using clay 3D printing and hand sculpting, the final step of our working process that blends digital generation, machine work, and handwork. Our goal is to explore how generative AI might help us engage more deeply with histories of making, creating vessels that can honor both the tactile expressions of Iron Age potters as well as our own contemporary digital-physical studio practice.
Ear Urn, 2025. 3D-printed and hand-sculpted mixed clay with engobe wash. 19 x 20 x 35 cm.
Detail.
Iron Age earthenware jar, excavated in Horsens, DK.
Footed Bowl, 2025. 3D-printed and wheel-thrown red clay, beeswax. 33 x 30 x 25 cm.
Detail.
Iron Age earthenware crock, excavated in Horsens, DK.
Iron Age pot, excavated in Horsens, DK.
AI-generated 3D model of an Iron Age pot.
Fracture pot, 3D-printed and hand-sculpted mixed clay (greenware).
Iron Age pot, excavated from Hedegård, Horsens, DK.
AI-generated 3D model of a “Danish Iron Age pot excavated in Horsens, Denmark.”
Pebble jar, 3D-printed and hand-sculpted mixed clay 20 x 20 x 22 cm (greenware).