Clay animals

The assignment was to create a clay animal using the pinch pot, slab, and coil methods, then add glaze and make it a sgraffito. I made a hedgehog, but finished earlier so I made a mushroom and a gnome to go along with it. First, I made a ball of clay and then used the pinch pot method to make the body hollow. Then I added the head by using the pinch pot method as well, making sure to add a hole between the neck and body so air could get in. Then I smoothed out all of the bumps and cracks and added ears. I did the same for the gnome and mushroom.

I used contrast by making sure there was a good amount of white as well as black. I used pattern on the hedgehog's back (I made little trees that I tried to make look like prickles) and on the mushroom with the snowflakes. I used unity in all three of my creations because they all relate to each other. I was originally just going to make one hedgehog but then I wanted to make a 'scene' of all the animals together, like something out of a Jan Brett book.

I'm kind of obsessed with hedgehogs and anything Scandinavian, so I decided to make them all have Norwegian designs. I'm proudest of how the hedgehog's designs came out because they all sort of tie in with each other and it looks Scandinavian, which I wanted. I struggled in remembering to make holes in the bodies and with closing up the pot to make the body; it was thin in around the edge and was hard to make sure it was thick enough. If I could fix something, I would have put more glaze on and spread it around more. It looks patchy in some areas.