Mr Tenmoku

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Mr Tenmoku is an experimental stool, made of laminated Cypress wood seat, with a hollow 9mm thick Porcelain base (slip-cast) on a rush matt. A collaboration between Industrial Designer and Ceramicist Judith Glover and Furniture Designer James Dutton, the stool used traditional materials and process - slip cast porcelain and glaze combinations - to test the capabilities of slip casting into contemporary furniture pieces. High fired porcelain is known for its exceptional strength and beauty but rarely used in furniture production. The stool tested the structural capabilities of high fired porcelain into larger objects. While porcelain is used in larger pieces such as mass manufactured toilets - which demonstrate its structural capabilities - rarely has it been taken into a consumer furniture market and the possibilities of ceramic decoration and aesthetics via glazing combinations utilised more fully. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: The aim of the research was to test the capabilities of high fired porcelain for its use into contemporary furniture markets in 3 ways. 1)The stool base tested the structural capabilities of high fired porcelain into larger objects, 2) the use of glazing on that object tested the semantic capabilities of porcelain glazing in creating an aesthetic suitable for contemporary furniture markets, and 3) the combination of the porcelain base with the wood seat tested the ability to join porcelain structurally to another material. The resulting 3 aims create a unique and new object in the contemporary furniture market. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The work was shortlisted for the biennial Victorian Craft Award, organised by Craft Victoria, the peak organisation for contemporary craft and design.' It was one of the 116 works selected from 449 entries and exhibitied at Craft Victoria for 2 weeks. The Award is Victoria's largest exhibition of craft artists, showcasing excellence and innovation across all mediums.