Ceramics/3-D design II
“Frogger”
5 ½ x 4, Mold, 2023
I created a simple frog to learn how to pour a mold. I started by choosing my mold and placing a rubber band around it to keep it secure, I then made up slip and poured it inside the mold. After a couple of days of drying, I opened up my mold and carefully trimmed my frog, then it was fired for the first time. I chose my glaze color and did 3 coats of glaze before it was fired again. The most difficult thing for me was taking my clay out of the mold, it was fragile, and there was always a risk of breaking it. I just took the process very slowly and took my time to ensure I didn't damage the piece. If I could start over I would choose a different color of glaze, I played it safe and just did one color this time. My favorite part of the pierce is the smoothness of its body. I sanded the frog down a TON before glazing and it definitely showed.
"Hereford"
x X X, Ceramic Bust, 2023
For my ceramic bust I created a cow, To do this I started by creating the armature with newspaper and tape. Then I created lots of slabs of clay to begin forming the shape with clay. Slowly I started adding eyes, ears, and nose details and smoothing it all out. For the base I just took coils and formed a vase for my cow head to rest on, I made sure it was slanted slightly to ensure the head would be visible. I then let my cow head dry halfway so I could open it up and take the newspaper out. After letting it dry all the way and firing it in the kiln for the first time I chose my colors and began adding my glaze. I added 4 coats total to ensure it was nice and covered. I went for a realistic point of view, that's why I chose the colors I did as well as the overall shape. The most difficult thing for me was figuring out how to balance the entire thing while I was adding to it. The ears were the hardest part, they were very heavy and I had to end up putting cans under them to hold them up. If I could start over I would add a few more details such as horns. My favorite part is the ears, They are my favorite because I spent most of my time doing them, and I think they look the most realistic.
"Bowl and cup"
xXx, Wheel Thrown Pottery, 2023
For my wheel experience, I chose to start small with a simple cup, This allowed me to get a feel for how to work the wheel and it didn't push me outside of my comfort zone too far. With my cup I also experimented with some engravings by adding some plants to the walls of it, then I glazed it two different shades of green overlapping them to create a different shade. My final wheel piece was my bowl, This last tie was my chance to make something as symmetrical as I could, and Im definitley proud of how it turned out. With this glaze, I just overlapped a few dark colors to create an almost purple color in the middle. The hardest part of doing the wheel was figuring out how to properly center the clay, it took me a solid 30 minutes the first time to get my clay ball centered, but after I figured it out it was fun to do. If I could change anything I would choose to get more creative with my glazing.
Drip Vase
xXx, Large Vessel, 2023
For my vessel, I chose to do a weird shape, I didn't have a solid plan for what I wanted to do so I just kept adding different shapes and handles to it. I started with a flat base that I cup from an ice cream lid, then I just layered coils until I reached the shape I wanted. I used a rib and slip to smooth out the entire vessel in and out. I used coils to create the handles on all 4 sides and secured those with the slip-and-score method. After that was fired the first time I sanded the outside very well and glazed the whole thing, then added the drips at the end. Then it was fired one last time. The most difficult thing was attaching the handles to ensure they wouldn't fall off. I put a lot of support around them to make sure they were on there good. My favorite part is the handles because it adds neat detail to the piece, and my least favorite part is the main color, I would have liked a shiny finish instead of a dull one.
Caterpillar.mp4"Stop Motion animation"
2023
I chose to do a caterpillar walking as my stop motion animation video, I wanted to do something different but still cute.