The assignment of this project was to make a plaster base with a design of the tile I wanted to make. I simply created a pattern that I thought would be cool and carved that pattern into clay. I then made a frame and created plaster by mixing the mix and water. I poured the plaster over the clay that I had carved and when the dried plaster came out, the mold for the many tiles I made was created. From there, I pushed clay into the mold and coaxed the clay out of the plaster mold by tapping it on the table. I repeated this process four times, and made four tiles. After those tiles had been bisque-fired, I used a C-20 Cobalt glaze for one, a PC-23 Indigo Float glaze for another, a PC-27 Tourmaline green glaze for another and a PC-41 Ver Lustre for the last.

Line played a big role in this project as you had to have good, strong lines in the mold so the tiles did as well. The form of the tiles also had to be square and something that had clear shapes, another element that I used. The pattern that was created in the mold was also significant because it determined how interesting my tile would be. This project was originally going to be a more complex design, but I realized that that design had a lot of undercuts and so I moved to this design. This was more simple and in the long run, improved my tiles.

Zentangles and design have always been cool to me as I always doodle and draw when I am bored. Because of this habit, I like to make designs in my pottery as well and so this was how this piece connected to my life. I am proud of the way that the pattern ended up looking when all three tiles were put together. I was worried that the tile would look bad by itself because it is rather unbalanced in where the shapes are on the tile, but when all four tiles are put together, the shape becomes balanced and I was proud of this. While doing the tapping of the plaster mold to get out the tiles, the mold broke and so this was one of my struggles. However, the break was on the edge of the mold and so I could continue to do the same mold even with the break. If I could have done this again, I might have chosen a design that was a little more interesting and had more flavor, but overall, I was happy with the final product.