Ceramic and Glass Design labs are an integral part of ceramic and glass design discipline at NID, this falls under the faculty of Industrial Design. These labs at NID have bothadvanced and indigenous technologies available. It facilitates students to experiment and explore a variety of techniques, methods and materials.
The objective of these labs is to provide a dynamic learning environment to think and makeusing specific materials. It provides a stimulating ambience to pursue an individual’s creativity under the realm of art, craft and design, enabled by the technology of the materials. Within the pedagogical framework of NID, “learning by doing” the ceramic and glass labs become an indispensable space for learning and growing.
The infrastructure facilitates the student to start their journey from basics, and build upon it to a higher level of understanding, investigation and application of these materials. The students of the discipline are sensitised and oriented towards the traditional methods, techniques and communities practising with these materials through demonstrations and interactions; while they are as well encouraged to push the traditional boundaries of these materials; experiment and explore beyond the conventional norms, contextualise to the current context and probe future possibilities.
The Ceramic and Glass Labs in-house tools and equipment support explorations and production possibilities ranging from traditional to industrial. Equipment list, including potter’s wheels, plaster wheels, glass furnace enables students to learn the varied techniques of making in the material.
The ceramic material lab has the whole gamut of raw materials to explore, experiment and develop a wide range of clay bodies, including earthenware, stoneware, bone china, porcelain, raku etc., colours, stains, engobes, glazes etc., The labs are also well equipped with ball mill, filter press, pug mill to produce clay bodies and glazes, pottery wheels and Slab rolling machine for building and collection of electric kilns and gas kilns, for firing ceramics at various temperatures ranging from 800°C to 1200°C.
Glass processes such as cold, warm and hot can be very well carried out with the given set of equipment, including, flatbed kiln, lamp work torches, Glass blowing furnaces, glory hole furnace, annealing chamber, cutting, grinding and polishing machines etc.,
The labs are managed by technical and skilled professionals, who can demonstrate the traditional art and craft of pottery and glassmaking. They also work efficiently with modern technology. They support and facilitate students in their ongoing projects, encourage them to develop models and prototypes.
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