Peter Yang - Ceramic Studies

CeramicComputational DesignMaterial Study

Overview

Role

Individual and collaborative ceramic research, craft, material experimentation, and digital fabrication study

Project Name

Ceramic Studies

Timeline

2012 - 2014, 2020

Built with

Material study, ceramic design, craft, glaze experimentation, and digital fabrication

Deliverables

Glaze Inlaying Technique Study, Machined Translucency, ceramic objects, material samples, exhibitions, and selected work documentation

Where I Started

Material Research

Ceramics are among the oldest materials used to make artifacts, but the knowledge around clay, minerals, water, fire temperature, humidity, and finishing techniques continues to evolve.
I have explored ceramics for almost a decade, studying how their strength, hygiene, beauty, and tactile qualities can support objects, tableware, architectural materials, medical materials, and experimental craft.

Recognition and Exhibitions

The work includes a selected piece at Talente 2016, Handwerkskammer Fur Munchen und Oberbayern in Munich, Germany.
Exhibitions include Material Systems: Digital Design and Fabrication at Harvard Ceramic Studio in Boston, Handwerkskammer Fur Munchen und Oberbayern in Munich, Galerie Rosemarie Jager Hochheim in Germany, and Christmas Present Exhibition at Gallery Galaxy in Songzhuang, China.

What I Did

Studies

Developed Glaze Inlaying Technique Study as an individual project that reinterprets traditional clay inlaying by carving clay, filling it with colored material, and applying the logic to glaze decoration.
Combined transparent glossy glaze with opaque matte glaze to create decoration with depth, contrast, and tactile variation while reducing the blurring that can happen when inlaid clay patterns are glazed.
Worked on Machined Translucency as a ceramic digital fabrication study with Alejandra Avalos Guerrero, Yungi Jung, and Joonhaeng Lee, leading the project while focusing on material experiments and clay works.

Research Direction

Expanded a handcraft-based ceramic practice toward digital fabrication while keeping material behavior and surface quality central to the work.
Studied CNC trimming as a post-forming technique for wet clay, exploring more sophisticated patterns and shapes while reducing deformation and shrinkage after firing.

What I Learned

Key Insights

Ceramic experimentation depends on both control and uncertainty because minerals, water content, firing temperature, humidity, glaze, and timing all shape the final result.
Digital fabrication can extend ceramic craft when it works with the material's behavior rather than treating clay as a neutral industrial input.

Critical Constraints

Surface techniques need to account for how glaze changes after firing, especially when preserving fine patterns, depth, and tactile detail.
Machining wet clay requires careful attention to deformation, shrinkage, tool behavior, and the timing between forming, trimming, drying, and firing.