projects | a shadow of craft

2020-2022

A Shadow of Craft - Auxiliary Projects (Relations to Making)

2020-2022

The work in this section is a series of contemporaneous works created in conjunction with A Shadow of Craft. These works, including those in the STL Collection and Ceramics, both in concept and practice, are tangential to A Shadow of Craft and significantly influenced the development of my thinking. The projects all function as inquiries into the implications of craft in design as influenced by modern technologies and the dematerialization of objects in modern society.

wood potter's stool furniture design by Topher Gent

Potter’s Stool

2021
birch, painted steel, brass, 3D printed hardware

The Potter’s stool was designed to consider the studio and furniture as a tool for makers. The potter’s stool serves a specific function for the potter working at the wheel, and is adjustable in height to accommodate the potter’s desired ergonomics. The adjustable leg design was inspired by traditional wooden tripods. This stool was designed with small scale production in mind, where every aspect of production could be machined or cut by hand in small batches using only the resources available to me in the workshops.

CNC carved seat on stool furniture design Topher Gent
wood joinery detail with brass pins
Adjustable height legs potters stool furniture design
Birch wood potters stool featuring adjustable legs and bent laminations

The underside of the stool seat features a CNC carved spiral pattern, reminiscent of throwing rings left in the clay while throwing at the pottery wheel. The pattern that creates this surprising tactile experience is cut using a single pass of a 12mm router bit. As this texture meets the fingertips, it creates a connection between the user and the process through which it was made.

hands throwing porcelain on pottery wheel
CNC rough carved seat
hand tactile detail wood seat
Furniture Designer Topher Gent at workbench with stool.
potter's stool furniture design in use at ceramics wheel
Birch wood seat details
Two potter's stool furniture design at different heights.

Potter’s Ribs

2021
hand-cut white oak

Tools can be an extension of our hands. The potter’s rib is an essential tool for ceramic artists of all kinds, but especially those who work on the wheel. It is with this tool at ceramicists articulate the final form. Making my own tools in custom shapes and sizes further connects me to the process and to the final object.

Handmade wooden pottery ribs by designer Topher Gent.
3D modeling pottery tools in Rhino
Topher Gent throwing a ceramic bowl at the pottery wheel
Topher Gent throwing a ceramic cup at the pottery wheel.
Topher Gent throwing a ceramic cup at the pottery wheel.
Handmade wooden pottery ribs.

Designers Saturday Oslo

2021

This co-curatorial exhibition project was in collaboration with Taran Neckelmann, Tooti Blom, Kristine Hagen, Heidi Bekkevold, and the University of Bergen’s Institute for Design. The concept–new perspectives on craft–evolved into a presentation of a workshop environment in the newly opened National Museum of Oslo. Our goal was to represent a workshop in motion, highlighting a number of works that utilized the exceptional workshops at UiB KMD. Each of the selected pieces demonstrated a unique and modern way of working with traditional techniques.

Designs on display at National Museum of Oslo.
Topher Gent throwing clay in exhibit at National Museum Oslo.
Potters stool and pottery wheel on display in exhibition.
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