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CeramicsSlipcastingTableware

Ardea

A slipcast ceramic balsamic vinegar pourer, shaped after the heron, with a long asymmetric neck for a small, controlled stream.

Pouring balsamic vinegar from Ardea onto avocado toast
Problem
Balsamic vinegar is thick and precious, yet it is usually poured from bottles that glug and overflow.
Approach
Studied bird forms, tested how a bottle’s shape changes its pour, then CNC machined a master model to make a plaster mould for slipcasting.
Outcome
A neutral ceramic body, a cherrywood and cork stopper, and a neck that pours a small, controlled stream.
Role
Designer & maker
Timeline
Studio project
Team
Solo
Tools
CAD, CNC, Plaster, Slipcasting, Wood lathe

Skills

  • Form development
  • Model making
  • Mould making
  • Slipcasting
  • Turning

Phases

  1. 01Observe
  2. 02Ideate
  3. 03Test
  4. 04Mould
  5. 05Cast
  6. 06Finish

01 / Observation

Starting from the shape of a bird.

Photographing herons and geese, I looked at how a long neck rises from a compact body, then sketched bottles that borrow the same gesture.

  • A grey heron standing on a mossy roof
  • Two Canada geese by the river
  • Line sketches of bottle forms inspired by birds

02 / Testing

Testing how form changes the pour.

Pouring from different bottles showed how much the neck controls the stream. Card models then tested size ratios, and clay tops tested character.

  • Pouring vinegar from a wide bottle neck
  • Pouring vinegar from a narrower neck
  • Pouring vinegar through a metal spout

Bottle form affects pour control.

  • Four card models testing body and neck proportions

    Testing size ratios

  • Eight card models with different clay bottle tops

    Each bottle top gives the form a different personality

03 / Technical

From technical drawing to plaster mould.

The master model was CNC machined 10% larger than the technical drawing, plus a spare, then used to cast a two-part plaster mould.

Technical drawing
Technical drawing of Ardea with section and dimensions
Height
160 mm
Height
Body footprint
80 × 20 mm
Body footprint
Master model oversize
+10%
Master model oversize
  • The master model boxed up for casting
  • Pouring plaster over the master model
  • Scraping back the set plaster
  • The finished two-part plaster mould

Plaster mould from the CNC master model.

04 / Making

Slipcast in ceramic, topped on the lathe.

Slip is poured into the mould and drained to leave a thin wall, then released and refined. The stopper is turned from cherrywood and fitted with cork.

  • Pouring slip into the plaster mould

    01Pour the slip

  • Draining excess slip from the mould

    02Drain the excess

  • The released casting being trimmed

    03Release the cast

  • Refining the neck of the casting

    04Refine the edges

  • Turning cherrywood on the lathe

    05Turn the cherrywood

  • Drilling the stopper on the pillar drill

    06Drill for the cork

  • Turning cork on the lathe

    07Turn the cork

  • The finished cherrywood and cork stopper

    08The finished stopper

05 / Outcome

A pourer that holds itself like a heron.

  • Ardea held mid-pour in a café
  • Ardea standing upright with its cherrywood stopper
  1. 01

    Neutral ceramic body

    Ceramic keeps the flavour profile neutral, so the vinegar tastes as it should.

  2. 02

    Cherrywood & cork stopper

    A turned top seals the bottle to preserve the vinegar.

  3. 03

    Asymmetric long neck

    Pours a small, controlled stream that prevents overflow, and gives the bottle the posture of the great heron, genus Ardea.