Weather data is another interesting choice for creating data jewelry. Above to the left is a bracelet created by Mitchell Whitelaw based on one year of weather data from Canberra. The right image shows a measuring cup made by the same artist, where each ring represents monthly average temperatures in Sydney over 150 years. Sources: Mitchell Whitelaw. Weather Bracelet (2009) Mitchell Whitelaw. Measuring Cup (2010)

Another data-driven tableware, this time conveying world statistics. The fork on the image shows calories consumption for the US and three other countries. Source: Nadeem Haidary.

This set of tableware by designer Iohanna Pani conveys personal statistical data. Source: designboom

Alice Thudt, a PhD student in Computational Media Design, crafts pieces of pottery that embody data about moments she shared with her loved ones. Left image (2015): cereal bowls showing Skype-call history between Alice and her parents. On the front bowl, each line represents a day where they skyped. On the other bowl, each dot represents 10 min of call time. She offered a bowl as a present to her parents and kept the other one as a reminder to stay in touch every time she has breakfast. Middle image (2016): teapot showing instant messages containing the word "love" that Alice and her boyfriend exchanged since they started dating. Each dotted line represents one year; one dot stands for 10 messages. The teapot shows how they went from a long-distance relationship to recent years when they were geographically closer and texting was less necessary. Right image (2016): bowl showing the productivity of Alice's boyfriend over the course of one year, offered to him as a birthday gift – the outside surface shows git commits, while the inside shows the number of emails sent per month. Life in Clay explores turning data about my life and the lives of my loved ones into functional pottery. By making objects that can be touched, loved and used every day I want to give our elusive personal data a physical presence. The pattern of each handcrafted artifact represents a precious memory, experience or relationship that I want to remember or remind others of. The data pots create opportunities for the stories hidden in my data to be serendipitously reencountered, shared over dinner with friends or silently reflected upon with a cup of coffee on the couch. Sources: Alice Thudt (2017) Life in Clay. Alice Thudt, Uta Hinrichs and Sheelagh Carpendale (2017) Data Craft: Integrating Data into Daily Practices and Shared Reflections.

Data materialization is a workflow developed to create 3D objects from data-informed designs. Building upon traditional metalwork and craft, and new technology’s data visualization with generative art, this workflow expresses conceptually relevant data through 3D forms which are fabricated in traditional media. The process allows for the subtle application of data in visual art, allowing the aesthetic allure of the art object or installation to inspire intellectual intrigue. This entry describes the technical and creative process of Modern Dowry, a silver-plated 3D-print teapot on view at the Museum of the City of New York, June 2017-June 2018. Modern Dowry was created for an invitational exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York titled “New York Silver: Then and Now.” The curator’s charge was for the artists to take inspiration directly from the Museum’s collection of Colonial Silver. I was inspired by the history of silver objects holding the wealth of the family directly. Silver platters, porringers, and vessels were presented to a bride upon her marriage from her family, as a dowry of sorts. In comparing these stories to my personal financial situation, and the contrast of entering my marriage with a significant sum of student loan debt and joining that to my husbands, I created this teapot utilizing the figures of my debts and assets as represented in the convex and concave curves that make up the teapot footprint. (Courtney Starrett) Sources: Courtney Starrett (2017) Modern Dowry. Courtney Starrett (2015) Data materialization projects. Related: Also see our other entries on data-driven tableware.