Hidden Intention & Failure Atelier
Kunsthal Aarhus, June-December 2026.
Currently on view through December 2026 at Kunsthal Aarhus, DK. Project page coming soon!
In the mean time, you can visit The Hall of Failure exhibition page and read a bit more about the show on Artmatter.dk. Programming throughout the fall in conjunction with the exhibition will be announced via Instagram.
In the mean time, you can visit The Hall of Failure exhibition page and read a bit more about the show on Artmatter.dk. Programming throughout the fall in conjunction with the exhibition will be announced via Instagram.
Detail of Hidden Intent. Photo courtesy of Kunsthal Aarhus.
Failure Atelier, a working studio within The Hall of Failure exhibition. Photo courtesy of Kunsthal Aarhus. Generations : interpreting Iron Age ceramics
digital ceramics, 2025.
Generations reinterprets a set of Danish Iron Age clay vessels (500 BC–400 AD) from Horsens Museum's collection as new ceramic sculptures. The ancient pots look plain at first, but they were used for everything from cooking to burial rituals. Many were found in excavations at sites like Hedegård, as well as in farmers' fields and construction sites around Horsens municipality. I'm not trying to recreate these pots. I want to know what new forms can come from treating historical designs as raw material for contemporary ones.
My process brings together four kinds of artifacts: historical (the museum pots), digital (3D models), machine (the clay 3D printer), and human (my own hand). The digital models come from two directions: photogrammetry, which rebuilds a vessel as a 3D model from photographs of the original, and generative tools that produce invented forms from written descriptions. Neither is a finished design. Both are starting points I test, then keep, change, or discard once I'm working on the printer and by hand.
The project resulted in a series of sculptural ceramics, each one made by taking a reconstructed or invented form and reworking it: adjusting proportions, combining elements from different pots, redrawing a surface. The finished vessels carry traces of both the real and the invented, and they read as ancient and futuristic at the same time. Working this way has made history something I can participate in rather than look at.
Special thanks to ceramicist Anna Andersen and Horsens Museum for their collaboration in this project.
My process brings together four kinds of artifacts: historical (the museum pots), digital (3D models), machine (the clay 3D printer), and human (my own hand). The digital models come from two directions: photogrammetry, which rebuilds a vessel as a 3D model from photographs of the original, and generative tools that produce invented forms from written descriptions. Neither is a finished design. Both are starting points I test, then keep, change, or discard once I'm working on the printer and by hand.
The project resulted in a series of sculptural ceramics, each one made by taking a reconstructed or invented form and reworking it: adjusting proportions, combining elements from different pots, redrawing a surface. The finished vessels carry traces of both the real and the invented, and they read as ancient and futuristic at the same time. Working this way has made history something I can participate in rather than look at.
Special thanks to ceramicist Anna Andersen and Horsens Museum for their collaboration in this project.
3D-printed and hand sculpted earthenware, mineral pigment, wax, twine. Various dimensions.
Set detail.
Mug vase and Window jar; 3D printed and hand sculpted earthenware, wax and mineral pigment, 2025. 15 x 15 x 35 cm and 18 x 18 x 20 cm.
Detail, Mug vase.
Fracture pot and Ear urn; 3D printed and hand sculpted earthenware, wax and mineral pigment, 2025. 20 x 20 x 26 cm and 19 x 19 x 31 cm.
Detail, Ear Urn.
Wavy jar and Standing jug; 3D printed and hand sculpted earthenware, wax, mineral pigment, twine, 2025. 20 x 19 x 24 cm and 20 x 20 x 38 cm.
Fetching artifacts from the archives.
Photographing artifacts at the museum’s offices.
Iron Age clay jug fragment, from the collection at Horsens Museum.
Iron Age clay flask, , from the collection at Horsens Museum.
Iron Age clay pots, from the collection at Horsens Museum.
Iron Age clay jug, from the collection at Horsens Museum.
Iron Age pot, excavated in Horsens, DK.
AI-generated 3D model, made using photographs of the pot.
Fracture pot; 3D-printed and hand sculpted earthenware. 20 x 20 x 26 cm.
Iron Age pot, excavated in Horsens, DK.
AI-generated 3D model of a “Danish Iron Age pot excavated in Horsens, Denmark.”
Window jar; 3D-printed and hand sculpted earthenware, wax. 18 x 18 x 20 cm.
A pot : experiments with clay + gen AI
digital ceramics, 2024 - 2025.
A pot is a collaborative project with ceramicist Anna Andersen that uses generative AI as a design tool in ceramic practice. We wanted to know whether AI could add something to our process without undermining the hands-on, material qualities that define ceramics, and what AI tools could actually produce for something as specific and physical as a pot. We began this project hoping adding generative AI tools into our belts would expand the way we make design choices, in form and in process. In this work we treat AI as a support tool, not a replacement for human creativity or craftsmanship.
In the studio, we generated and evaluated hundreds of outputs from two early open-source text-to-3D generators, point-E and shap-E, keeping the forms we saw potential in. The tools were imprecise and inaccurate, but that helped more than it hurt. What came back was often far from what either of us would have sketched or modeled, and that distance added to the process; the rough output from the AI tools left room for us to design on top of it, or alongside it, and sometimes despite it. Each sketch (a 3D model) became a starting point that we altered, remixed, and interpreted through our own design sensibilities and understanding of clay. We then translated digital to physical in the workshop, through a combination of clay 3D printing and hand sculpting.
The project produced a series of pots, but its more lasting result was a way of working; a studio process that folds generative AI into ceramic practice, which we've since carried into other projects. Our making stayed where it always was, in our hands, with AI acting as a generative starting point we could creatively push against.
A pot has recieved development support from Nationalbankens Jubilaeumsfond.
In the studio, we generated and evaluated hundreds of outputs from two early open-source text-to-3D generators, point-E and shap-E, keeping the forms we saw potential in. The tools were imprecise and inaccurate, but that helped more than it hurt. What came back was often far from what either of us would have sketched or modeled, and that distance added to the process; the rough output from the AI tools left room for us to design on top of it, or alongside it, and sometimes despite it. Each sketch (a 3D model) became a starting point that we altered, remixed, and interpreted through our own design sensibilities and understanding of clay. We then translated digital to physical in the workshop, through a combination of clay 3D printing and hand sculpting.
The project produced a series of pots, but its more lasting result was a way of working; a studio process that folds generative AI into ceramic practice, which we've since carried into other projects. Our making stayed where it always was, in our hands, with AI acting as a generative starting point we could creatively push against.
A pot has recieved development support from Nationalbankens Jubilaeumsfond.
3D-printed and hand sculpted red clay, various dimensions (largest is 35 x 30 x 40 cm).
A pot with handles, 3D-printed and hand sculpted red clay.
Vase with necks, 3D-printed and hand sculpted red clay.
Double Amphora, 3D-printed and hand sculpted red clay.
Detail, Vase with necks.
AI-generated model of “a pot” - what we consider an initial “digital sketch.”
My sketches for a pot.
First version of Double Amphora.
AI-generated model of “a pot”.
AI-generated model of “a pot”.
AI-generated model of “a pot”.
Two of our first AI-generated 3D models.
Glazing one of the models, 3D-printed in red clay.
Beaker, 3D-printed red clay, slip wash, glaze.Clay 3D Printer
studio tool, 2019 - ongoing
My journey with clay 3D printing began unexpectedly in 2019 while building a Digital Fabrication Studio at Montserrat College of Art. Despite having no prior experience with ceramics, I fell in love with the unique qualities of clay as a material and the machine expressions that arise from the clay 3D printing process. This initial fascination led me to take a ceramics course and begin experimenting with a Potterbot clay printer to better understand the technology and its possibilities.
First clay printing experiments with a Potterbot, 2019.
First clay printing experiments with a Potterbot, 2019.
First 3 “vases” in 3D-printed porcelain, 2019.
This tool-building project took shape in 2022 when I received an Art/Tech Artist-in-Residence grant that allowed me time and support to build my own custom clay printer. I started by visiting ceramicist Anna Andersen, who works with two different types of self-built clay printers. For my printer build, I decided to combine the strengths of two existing systems: an FLSun Q5 delta printer, chosen for its stepper motors and accessible motherboard, paired with a Stoneflower 3D Ceramic printer kit that provided mechanical ram extrusion and the option for independent clay extrusion controls.
The technical development involved designing a custom mount for the printhead and modifying the firmware to accommodate the hybrid setup and custom wooden build plates. I also created custom G-code and slicing profiles using Prusa Slicer, which was already integrated with my existing 3D printing studio workflow.
The technical development involved designing a custom mount for the printhead and modifying the firmware to accommodate the hybrid setup and custom wooden build plates. I also created custom G-code and slicing profiles using Prusa Slicer, which was already integrated with my existing 3D printing studio workflow.
Researching a DIY printer build - studio visit with ceramicist Anna Andersen, Horsens, DK.
Researching a DIY printer build - studio visit with ceramicist Anna Andersen, Horsens, DK.
Assembling the delta printer and designing a custom printhead mount.
Dialing in custom z heights for firmware and slicer settings.
First day of operation in FabLab Spinderihallerne, Vejle, DK.
Testing printer operation and slicer settings.
It’s alive! Printing with stoneware clay.
Printer setup in studio with wall-mounted ram extruder.
After completing the build in 2023, I spent time calibrating the system and testing various types of 3D forms and clay types. The printer has since been exhibited at the Silicon Vejle festival in Vejle, DK and has become an integral tool for several of my projects, including Jord/Luft, Vibrant Soils, and Jordforbindelse. Currently, it's helping me create prototypes for my latest experimental work combining generative AI with ceramics, A pot.
Testing forms and clay bodies.
Experiments with slicer settings.
Printer on location outdoors at Silicon Vejle city festival, 2023.
Special thanks to Anna Andersen, Andrew Sliwinski and the folks at FabLab Spinderihallerne for their support and advice during the build.
Some things I found helpful:
+ Jonathan Keep’s guide to clay 3D-printing
+ Stoneflower 3D’s Ceramic 3D printer kit
+ Wikifactory Ceramic 3D printing forum
Some things I found helpful:
+ Jonathan Keep’s guide to clay 3D-printing
+ Stoneflower 3D’s Ceramic 3D printer kit
+ Wikifactory Ceramic 3D printing forum
Art/tech Artist-in-Residence, Vejle Kommune
residency and exhibition, 2022 - 2023
From 2022 to 2023, I served as the Art/tech artist-in-residence for Vejle municipality, Denmark; a role that combined art education with personal creative practice. The AIR role had two main parts: working with teachers, students, and decision-makers to create workshops and events that taught people about new technology through art and play, and developing my own art and technology projects.
As AIR I collaborated with educators, researchers, students, and artists from Denmark and beyond, each bringing different perspectives to questions about art, technology, and learning. The 18 months of work culminated in Sarah Trahan: Art/tech Huskunstner, an exhibition at Spinderihallerne that documented and displayed the various projects and partnerships that emerged during my time as AIR. The exhibition was organized around four areas — Teacher Collaboration & Workshops, Art in the FabLab, BioTechLab Experiments, and Fermenting Data — and included objects, photographs, and documentation from my own art/tech projects and experiments including my self-built clay printer, With/in a Landscape, Vibrant Soils, Hot Plastic, and Surface Error.
This residency was made possible through support from Vejle kommune and a generous grant from Statens Kunstfond. Other supporting partners for the residency include Vejle Bibliotekerne, Vejle Musik-og kulturskole, FabLab Spinderihallerne, BioTechLab Spinderihallerne and the Fermenting Data project. Images and video courtesy of Jonas Normann.
+ Interview in Kulturmonitor
+ Spinderihallerne AIR page
+ #arttechhuskunstner on Instagram
As AIR I collaborated with educators, researchers, students, and artists from Denmark and beyond, each bringing different perspectives to questions about art, technology, and learning. The 18 months of work culminated in Sarah Trahan: Art/tech Huskunstner, an exhibition at Spinderihallerne that documented and displayed the various projects and partnerships that emerged during my time as AIR. The exhibition was organized around four areas — Teacher Collaboration & Workshops, Art in the FabLab, BioTechLab Experiments, and Fermenting Data — and included objects, photographs, and documentation from my own art/tech projects and experiments including my self-built clay printer, With/in a Landscape, Vibrant Soils, Hot Plastic, and Surface Error.
This residency was made possible through support from Vejle kommune and a generous grant from Statens Kunstfond. Other supporting partners for the residency include Vejle Bibliotekerne, Vejle Musik-og kulturskole, FabLab Spinderihallerne, BioTechLab Spinderihallerne and the Fermenting Data project. Images and video courtesy of Jonas Normann.
+ Interview in Kulturmonitor
+ Spinderihallerne AIR page
+ #arttechhuskunstner on Instagram
Image from Intro to Clay 3D Printing AIR workshop.
Image from Fermenting Data AIR workshop series.
Images from ArtBot! AIR workshops with teachers, students and parents.
Image from AIR Playing in 3D workshop, FabLearn Conference.
Exhibition view, Art in the FabLab.
Detail.
Exhibition view, Vibrant Soils project.
Exhibition view, Vibrant Soils project.
Exhibition view, BioTechLab Experiments.
Detail, clay prints.
Exhibition view, Fermenting Data.
Detail, artifacts and ferments from workshops.