About the Works Featured
The ceramic pieces showcased on Clay Archive come from personal collections and the Teaching Gallery at the University of Kansas. The selections were not curated by the site's developer, but chosen by the owners of each collection — individuals who were asked to highlight works they believe hold significance within the field of ceramics, both technically and canonically.
These works are presented here for educational purposes only, to support the study and appreciation of ceramic form and process. If any artist prefers that their work not be included, it will be promptly removed upon request.
About the Scanning Process
This database is a collection of work scanned using an Artec Leo 3D scanner. It is dimensionally accurate. More "closed" forms likely do not have a scan of the interior and will be comprised of just exterior data. The scanning processes are contingent on being able to get close to perpendicular with the surface of the model so in many cases, the inside of a vessel is unachievable.
Additionally, there are a variety of texturing methods in use here. Texturing is the color data perceived on the surface of the object. In the best-case scenario, I have been able to photographically map texture onto the surface. See "Dryden Wells Bowl" for an example. This can achieve high level of detail to see things such as crazing in glazes and more accurate slip detail.
However, many works are unable to be aligned with photogrammetry and rely on the subpar texturing data of the 3d Scanner. See "Chris Alveshere Mug" as an example. The data is good enough to convey the general idea of the glaze surface, but lacks the high-fidelity detail seen in other objects. Due to this technical difficulty, the texturing data varies through the collection.