Ceramics I

1. Of which in-class project (Pinch Pots, Coil Pot, Soft Slab Construction, or Artist Inspired Project) are you the most proud? Why? Please explain and be specific. What did you learn from doing this project?

My favorite project in ceramics this year was the historical coil pot. I really like how the glazing came out, and I am proud of the improvements I made in ceramics in order to be able to make it. For our first project, we made spheres out of pinch pots, and I struggled with making the pinch pots symmetrical. With this project, I had to make a pinch pot for the hippo's head , and I realized how much I have improved, I was able to make the pinch pot on my first try. I'm also really proud of how I glazed it, I needed to modernize the pot, and I wanted to use a more complicated glazing technique to achieve a modern look. I decided to glaze stripes around the entire pot, and it came out looking really good. While making this project, I learned that ceramics requires a lot of practice because I never would have been able to make the hippo come out as good as it did if I had tried it in the beginning of the year.

2. How has taking this class changed the way you think about ceramics? This could include your own art-making, how you appreciate art, and/or how you might look differently at art in the world around you.

Before taking this class, I thought ceramics would be a lot more abstract. I didn't realize there were lots of complicated techniques to make different styles of pots and sculptures. I also didn't realize that there is such a wide variety of glazes, and lots of complicated glazing techniques. Before taking this class, I thought that ceramics would be a lot of the same thing every day. I really liked how each of our projects was something new, and different that we could learn and improve at. Now I understand that ceramics is a lot more complicated than I thought before taking this class.

3. What recommendations would you make for ways that the class could be improved (please don’t worry about hurting my feelings- artists learn from, and expect, constructive criticism).

I wish that we had been able to use the spinning wheels to make pots, I think that would have been a lot of fun. Also, I wish we had a little more time on some of the slab projects. I think I would have gotten a lot better at making mugs, and plates if I had a little more time to practice with slabs. I also really enjoyed the artist inspired project. I think it would have been fun to do another part with that project, maybe making one functional item and one sculpture. Overall, I really liked all of our projects, I liked how we usually started by learning a new technique, and then learned how to use that technique for a project.