SEKI Collection

Collection for ISU President Wintersteen’s Installation
with Erin Hunt, Kelly Devitt, and Ingrid Lilligren

Under Construction

SEKI is a collection of eighty unique vases designed for President Wendy Wintersteen’s installation by Shelby Doyle, Erin Hunt, Kelly Devitt, and Ingrid Lilligren. Each vase represents the integration of custom-made glazes with computational designs and 3D ceramic printing.

The process began with developing a digital 3D model  of each vase using a series of algorithms to create sets of geometry. From these digital models, code was produced that directed a ceramic 3D printer to deposit clay in thin layers, one layer at a time, to produce the vase. Once complete, the vases were dried, fired, glazed, and fired again. The palette of glaze colors was inspired by the University Museums’ Iowa College Pottery collection, thereby connecting advances in ceramic technology to its history at Iowa State.  This collaboration was possible because the Iowa State University College of Design is one of the most comprehensive design colleges in the country: home to seven departments, fostering opportunities for unique multidisciplinary collaborations.

SEKI is the result of an ongoing partnership at the  ISU Computation & Construction Lab (CCL) between the Department of Architecture and the ceramics studio in the Department of Art and Visual Culture at the College of Design.