Final Outline Portfolio Reflection

1. The project I’m most proud of has to be the purple mug I made. I was not satisfied with it until I had remade it a few times. First, the clay did not reach all the way around the tennis ball container and then being able to seal the sides together was quite difficult. However, after I managed to get the right size, and smoothy connect it, the mug looked great. Meaning I overcame obstacles and finished with a product I wanted. From this project I learned how to make a twisted handle and smooth out edges to make it safe to drink out of. I now know how to make a mug and I think that is a very useful skill. My mom has been using it for her coffee in the morning and I think the aspect of ceramics where you can give something to others makes it really special.

2. This class has made me realize many ceramic objects are harder to make than I originally thought. I especially saw this while making the historical coil pot, which was very hard and time consuming. I later looked at ancient tribes differently because they probably made hundreds of these and it took a lot of skill. I have also seen lots of different kinds of ceramic work and their goal or meaning behind it. After taking this class I am much more aware of the diversity of art simply under one category and I will now pay more attention to things around me, since so many more objects are made of clay than I thought. Overall I will definitely be aware of how much work and/or time goes into the work.

3. For the future, I would recommend having one project where students get to make some sort of out of the box creation and make it very abstract and fun. Maybe also making things like people, trees, etc. that can make the shapes more diverse, since the majority of the produced shapes are functional. I think ceramics 1 is a great class, working with clay has been relaxing for me and has helped with the stress of school and homework. I think you giving students a variety of different projects and ways you can differently use clay broadened our understanding of the subject. I think the energy of the class should never change, the music and the atmosphere along with what ceramics 1 is about is great. I really enjoyed this class and I will recommend it to other people.