Elements of 3-D Structure

Mass – Volume – Plane – Line – Texture/Surface – Color

Mass

            Mass is solidity, bulk.  It is the concentration of matter in a confined area.  It is also a quantity and shape of a given material; a ‘mass’ of clay.

            When speaking of a grouping of elements, it is common to refer to them as a mass or a massive form.  All of the elements are utilized to achieve mass.  Through repetition or accumulation, any single element may become mass.

            We must consider the nature of the material and its adaptability to mass.  To be fired without exploding, clay must be hollow; it can’t be a solid mass.  With clay we create the illusion of mass by how we shape it and by repeating elements.

Volume

            Volume is enclosed or defined space, a negative mass.  It is the absence of matter, defined by matter.  Volume has the characteristic of shape without being occupied by matter.  Its form is created by the forms around it.  Being of such low density, it is at once unique and elusive: unique because of its dependence on the other elements for its formation and elusive by its illusionary nature.  It cannot be isolated.  All elements have volume.  Mass is a positive volume.  Line and plane define volume.  Texture and color contrast volume.  Volume is indispensable to the molder of form.  It is closely associated with space.  The shape and area of volume, though dependent on a surrounding forms is always present and merely needs bounds.  It is the most automatic of the elements.

Plane

            Plane is the surface area of a given or defined shape.  All structural form has plane.  The underlying principle is the change in direction on any given surface.  Like mass and volume plane cannot be isolated.  Mass has surface; therefore, it has plane.  Volume, though a negative form, is defined by elements which must have surface and, thus plane.  Line, while thin, not only defines plane but in reality is a plane itself.  Texture and color, occurring mainly on surfaces, create planes. 

Planes may be flat or curved, concave or convex, occurring individually on one level or grouped with changes of direction.  An individual sheet of paper may be scored, folded, rolled, crumpled, placed in relation to other sheets, cut, textured, or colored in infinite combinations.  The thin sheets of clay used to make objects are in fact planes that we manipulate into more complex shapes.

Possibly the greatest attribute of plane is its ability to establish and modify direction.  Direction is the implied force and movement of one or more surface areas.  As you control plane so you control direction.  It is also possible to create the illusion of plane utilizing space.  Imagine a book with its pages opened like a fan, the edges of each page together from a curved plane.

Line

            Line is the edge of mass, the edge of contour, the edge of space that suggest the boundaries or limits of a shape or object, but which in reality is non existent.  Line, as the edge of mass, is directly akin to the other elements but has a greater illusion of isolation.  We tend to see line for itself and not as a thin mass or a cylindrical plane (like a pen), or enclosing a volume.  Line is so strongly embedded in our two-dimensional sense of perception that it becomes quite difficult not to think of it in isolation.  Line concentrates the quality of movement and direction, while plane, mass and volume tend to disperse the aspects. 

            Line can be straight, curved, or any combination of both.  Line can create a rhythm, a transition from one area to another, a concentration of interest, a tension between points and above all, it can establish distinct and abrupt limits.

Texture/Surface

            Texture is the surface quality of matter.  There are two types of sensations caused by texture; actual conveyed by touch and visual conveyed by sight.  Of all the elements, texture is far more important than we would normally suppose.  First, the surface quality, in affecting our senses, establishes the reality and existence of the form and in so doing creates a desire to handle and experience the surface.  Pottery is designed to be held and touched and the tactile experience is an important part of the user’s perception of the piece.  Visual texture occurs in a more indirect manner.  Our eyes perceive what our hands want to tell us.  The major difference between the two is one of illusion; whereas our eyes are easily deceived, actual touch gives a greater measure of reality.

Color

            Color in ceramics falls into three categories:  the natural color of the material; the addition of color in the form of a glaze or slip; and the distribution of lights and darks or chiaroscuro.

            The natural color of the clay may be sufficient in itself on occasion, but should not dictate the form.  It is often wise to enhance it with color if it serves to strengthen the work.  Any addition of color, by any means, if it enhances the form and intensifies the expression, is justified.  We are sometimes bound by tradition with ceramics, limited to slips and glazes that are fired, but contemporary work utilizes all manner of pigments, paints, waxes to achieve the desired effect.  They must be used appropriately.  One difficulty with surface color of any kind is that it becomes primarily a two-dimensional treatment on a three-dimensional form.  Some artists are mixing materials in their clay to create the specific color effect from within, as part of the means of building of the piece.

            The distribution of lights and darks, or chiaroscuro, created by the manipulation of elements is important as coloration.  As light sources change and fall on the work, the shifting patterns of light and dark continually alter the color within the work, and it creates its own hues and values.  This is important when displaying the piece.  It allows you to control how the viewer sees the work and is a means of defining and relation other elements within the object.