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Madison Gilroy "Golden" 2024
stoneware, surreal
1 1/2'' x 6 1/2"
The wheel was challenging this time around. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make so I kind of just hoped on the wheel and made something as I went along.
I wedged a softball size ball of clay. I threw it on the wheel so that the clay would attach to the wheel. Using pressure I kept making it thinner and pushing it back down till it was centered. When it was centered I pressed it all the way down and used my thumbs to make it wider. It was a circle but shaped it into a heart after I was done on wheel.
I made my clay to thin and the bottom was too weak so when I took my work off the wheel it made a whole in the bottom. I patched the whole with a thick piece of clay.
Madison Gilroy "Nature" 2024
18" x 6 1/2''
Stoneware, Sureal
I have been on many trips that have been memorable in some way. The ones I loved the most were when I was outside with nature. Nature gives a memorable scene in my head when I visited these places. I remember feeling at peace, excited, grateful, and way more positive feelings. I thought if I'm going to make a big vase why not make a vase that related to my wonderful experience when I was with nature.
I coiled a lot of clay and wrapped it around in a circle till it was at sixteen inches. I have three trips I made come to life on a vase. I added leftover clay to make the trips have dimension. I carved in trees with a tool. I used many different glazes to make my vase.
Madison Gilroy "Two Sides"
Madison Gilroy "Two Sides"
2024
Stoneware, Surreal
Fast and challenging is what I wanted to put in my mind for my next project. I have never done a mold before and I wanted to try it. Molding is very fast process and limited steps to complete it.
For this project I had to mold clay into the sun twice to get a two sided, three d sun. I used baby oil to oil the sun mold so my clay did not want to stick to the mold. I had to press hard and make sure I got every nook and cranny to make sure my sun had detail and turned out great! After I had my two molded suns I got slip and connected the two to make it one. I made poked small holes into the side so the sun didn't explode in the kiln. When it was fired for the first time I sanded and rinsed it. I glazed it with many different glazes.
Out of the whole process for this project connecting the sun to make it one was the most difficult thing. The detail on the sun wasnt that easy! I had to press and remold multiple times to get what I wanted.
The sun doesn't turn dark but feels like it does when the sun goes down so I believe its surreal. Looking at it you can turn it around and its the same thing just in diffrent color!
Madison Gilroy "Bella" 2024
Realistic, Stoneware
After doing the sun I wanted to do the process all over again! I wanted to do something else though, a face. The structure of faces is fascinating to me. All faces are different some people's faces are similar but there is always something that confirms they are different because structure and bones can never be one hundred percent the same.
I used the machine that presses clay flat. I laid my clay into the bay oiled face mold into it and pressed to make it into a face. I added a flower to the head to fill up the emptiness on the face. I used skin color glaze and darker glaze to make the face realistic.
Madison Gilroy "Hart"
Stoneware, Realistic
12''x24''
Deers are one of the most frightened animals. Since I was young everyone in my family has been obsessed with deers. Deers are just cool animals so I had the idea to create a large vessel of a male deer, a buck. In other art classes, I have created different animals I just haven't created a deer. Coming up with an idea was kind of hard but when I got the idea to create a ceramic deer the thought didn't leave my head and I was determined to make one.
I worked on this deer for so many classes and a couple of months. To build the base of my deer I coiled clay in the coil presser. I built up the deer with coils from the neck to the top of the head. I just kept wrapping coils around till I thought it was big enough. When I was done wrapping the coils around it just looked like a big vase at the beginning. To have the coils become one I welded them. I welded the inside and the outside till it was smooth. To smooth it out more I used a wet sponge. After that I started closing the top of it this would be the top of the head. On the top of the head, I used coils as well. I measured each coil from one side of the neck to the other. It was important that I didn't connect the coiled them straight it needed to be a hump, so it looked like a top of a head. I was scared to connect the snout I made my snout but then my teacher gave me advice and took the whole thing off and made a new and better one. I was told to cut a hole in the front to put a paper towel cardboard object in it. The cardboard was structured to build the nose. When I kept adding the clay to the snout I started on the ears and the head. Deer ears are straight up basically so it was kind of challenging to add the ears. I put pressure in the middle of the ears to make them look realistic. I attached the antlers next. Putting the holes into the where the antlers go makes them re-attachable. The eyes where the last and easiest part. I glazed the deer with multiple glazes to get the color I wanted.
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