Author: Laureanne Kootstra

Millk // a dutch breakfast set

 

 

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The Milk set is a porcelain project that is inspired by the Dutch landscape. The Netherlands has a population of 16.8 Million and a land mass of 41,534 km². This is 2 times more populated than Germany and the 30th most densely populated country in the world. With a grossly populous country like this, space becomes an important issue. How must we organise space so that there may be enough for each person?

When flying over the countryside of The Netherlands, the ariel view provides interesting 2D patterns and structures formed by the planning of this space. The Milk Set was inspired by these lines and shapes. Breakfast is probably the most important and known meal in The Netherlands. From Gouda cheese to chocolate sprinkles. The traditional Dutch Milk Cup used during breakfast time was the starting point of my form finding.

 

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The blue set is inspired by the windmill parks in the sea. Not only the land but also the sea gets affected by the lack of land in The Netherlands. Agricultural land and the organisation of this formed the pattern of the green set. The pink set is a representation of the fields of heather and the paths running through it, as even the national parks have fallen victim to the planning process.

 

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All the forms are created by hand. The positives are turned on a plaster wheel and then formed into the negative mould. The set consists of different colours that are created by the use of colour pigments. All the patterns were delicately hand-carved through the first coloured layer. This shows off the white layer underneath and after the firing process a translucent effect is created.
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Process // A Cup, A plate and A Bowl

After looking at the different shapes and items i decided to make a set for breakfast time. Dutch people LOVE their breakfast times. The cup will be in the typical dutch milkcup shape, a bow and a plate. They eat everything from Gouda cheese till chocolat sprinkles. The sweeter the better.



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Sketches

The cup is the first part of the collection that i have been working on. It was important that the cup represents the dutch milkcup in a modern way.   I picked the cup to be the start point of my form making. In the process of designing the shape, i started off with making a lot of sketches and paper mockups. To decide not only the shapes but also the sizes.  My favourite sketches were than translated into solidworks and keyshot.

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Renderings of the Milkcup

After having decided the forms they were translated into plasterforms that are turned on the plasterwheel and than formed into the negative mould.

The set is consisting of three different colours, the white porcelain was coloured by the use of pigments. The colours were first poured into the mould and instantly poured out again. Than the first coloured layer was dried in to mould. After this a second pour happened with white Mont Blanc porcelain. The items were left in the form overnight to make sure they were dried through.

After this the first layer was handcarved, by carving through the first coloured layer onto the second white layer. This shows off the white layer underneath and after the firing process a translucent effect is created.

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   Colour Pigments

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The first coloured layer of porcelain. 

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Handcarved symbols in the cup. 

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Signature carved in the bottom of the cup.

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Translucent effect through the handcarving.

Structure inspiration+experiment // the Netherlands

 

 

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Structures in nature are found in a natural way but also in a unnatural way. Holland or the Netherlands are a perfect example of a manmade country.

Not only were we fighting against the sea as long as the Netherlands exist , most of the country is below sealevel, also we are taking land from the sea and turn it into dry land. This gave us the possibilty to design parts of the land from scratch.

Holland is also one of the most dense countries on the world, we are with 17 million people on a land that is 1/8 thesize of germany. This means that all the land in holland is used very wisely and organised.

These interesting structures are fascinating me. Since is moved away from holland i have been fascination with a lot of facets of the Netherlands.

 

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The dutch fields are for me a very typical few of the dutch landscapes. They are straight rectangle shaped fields that are filling up the landscape. All different kinds of vegetables, flowers, animals, corn, and grasses are growing there. Little vences with barbed wire are normally seperating the fields.

 

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Heather fields in the Netherlands.

Porcelain Tests for structures.

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A Structure carved into Plaster and than translated into Porcelain.

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Structure tryouts made out of porcelain.

Excursion Reichenbach // Weimar-Porzellanikon/Selb

Last week we went on a two day roadtrip to visit a porcelain manufactory called ” Reichenbach”.  After we got a very detailled and interesting tour through the whole procedure of manufactoring porcelain we proceeded to Weimar.
We made an evening walk through Weimar and visited the Bauhaus University and the house of Johann Wolfgang Goethe. On the second day we visited Porzellanikon in Selb this included a visit to the Rosenthal Museum and the Porcelain Museum. We ended our trip with a visit to the Porcelain collection of Porzellinikon. A very amazing trip and it was lovely to get to know all the participants of the Evolution Lab better.

 

 

Reichenbach

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Weimar


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Porzellanikon

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