Jonathan Keep - Ceramics in a Digital Age

A 2.5-hour workshop with Jonathan Keep on 3D-printed ceramics - watch the replay for $39

"I am a traditionalist."

That's Jonathan Keep - potter for nearly 50 years, pioneer of clay 3D printing for over a decade -explaining why the printer isn't a replacement for the wheel. It's the next coil.

"A long time ago, people were coiling. Then the wheel came along and the coil master said, what are you using that machine for? You're cheating. Now in a weird way, I'm going back to the coiling - but I'm using a machine to actually do the coiling."

If you've been curious about 3D printing in clay but put off by the tech-bro framing of most content on the subject, this is the workshop you've been waiting for.Most potters have questions about 3D printing. Almost nobody has answers from someone who's actually doing it.

Jonathan Keep has been printing pots from code for over a decade. He built his own printer. He writes his own software. His work sits in collections across Europe.

He sat down with The Ceramic School for a live workshop and Q&A. No fluff, no sales pitch - just two and a half hours of how this actually works, what it costs, what it can and can't do, and where a working potter should start if they're curious.

The full replay is now available for $39.

What's inside

Part 1 - The workshop (1h 17m) Jonathan walks through his full process from code to fired vessel. You'll see:

• Jonathan walks through the full journey from traditional potter to code-driven ceramicist, then breaks down exactly how he works. You'll see:
• Why he believes 3D printing is a continuation of ceramic tradition, not a break from it
• How he started coding at age 50 with zero programming background, and why the internet made that possible
• His full workflow: Processing (code) → Blender (modeling) → Cura (slicing) → WASP printer
• The three types of ceramic 3D printing compared - powder, slip sintering, extrusion - and why he chose the one he did
• A complete tour of his printer setup, including the DIY machine he built himself and published open-source
• The three parts of every clay printer (rig, printhead, clay feed) and how to think about each one
• His clay testing results across six different clay bodies: shrinkage, force required, print quality
• Why soft clay outperforms hard clay for printing, counterintuitively
• The "drop spike" test he invented for measuring clay consistency reliably
• Nozzle size vs layer height: the sweet spot he's found after a decade of testing
• Print speed tests showing 10mm/s vs 40mm/s produce nearly identical results
• Support structures, bridging, wire reinforcement: the hand-built tricks that keep complex prints from collapsing
• Why he thinks plasticity (not water content) is the single most important factor
• How 5% bentonite transformed his results

Part 2 - The Q&A (1h 13m) Live questions from workshop attendees, answered directly:

• "What's the hardest part of troubleshooting a failed print?"
• "Do you add slip during printing or after?"
• "What's the tallest piece you've managed?"
• "What extrusion pressure should I be using?"
• "Can I print with locally-dug clay?"
• "What's the difference between China clay and porcelain for printing?"
• "What printer should someone starting out actually buy?"
• "How do I know when to blame the code vs the clay vs the machine?"
• "What's one piece of advice for someone just starting?"

Who this is for

Working potters and ceramicists who've been circling 3D printing for a while without finding a credible guide. You don't need a CS degree. You don't need to own a printer. You need someone who's been at the intersection of traditional craft and digital tools for 15+ years to tell you how it actually works.

Jonathan is one of the few people in the world who can do that - because he developed the techniques, built the machines, mixed the clay bodies, and published everything open-source along the way.

What makes this different

Most content on ceramic 3D printing is either breathlessly futuristic or dismissively traditional. Jonathan sits in neither camp.

He trained as a fine artist in South Africa during apartheid, made domestic ware for 30 years, and only started coding in his 50s. His work sits in collections across Europe. He's collaborated with UNFOLD in Antwerp, done residencies with WASP in Italy, and teaches regularly - and his whole framing is that this is what potting looks like in the age we're in, nothing more mystical than that.

The workshop reflects that. It's practical, honest about what fails, and grounded in thirty years of material knowledge. When he talks about clay consistency, he's drawing on decades of throwing. When he talks about form, he's drawing on his fine art training. The code is the newest thing in a long lineage.

What you get

• Full 1h 17m workshop replay
• Full 1h 13m Q&A replay
• Watch online, unlimited replays
• Lifetime access
• Downloadable resource list Jonathan mentions in the workshop (printers, software, suppliers)

One-time payment: $39 USD

About Jonathan Keep

Jonathan works from his studio on the Suffolk coast, where he's made pots for over thirty years. He exhibits regularly in the UK and abroad, and his collaborative work with the Antwerp design studio UNFOLD helped define the early language of ceramic 3D printing.

He's one of a small handful of ceramic artists globally who can teach this work because he developed it himself.

Website: www.keep-art.co.uk

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Common questions

Do I need a 3D printer to get value from this? No. Most attendees didn't own one. The workshop is designed to help you decide whether to get one at all.

Do I need to know how to code? No. Jonathan explains what you need as he goes.

How long do I have access? Forever. Buy it once, watch it whenever.

Is there a refund? Yes - 14 days, no questions. Email us and we refund in full.

"We are just building on the technologies that have gone before."

For the price of a bag of good porcelain, you get 2.5 hours with one of the few people in the world who can honestly bridge the traditional studio and the printed form.