Final Reflection

Overall, my Ceramics 2 experience was successful. Throughout this semester I got to learn and use new techniques such as using molds as I did in my independent design project. And building on and improving other methods such as slabs, I definitely used the slab technique much more this semester and I think my work with slabs looks much cleaner than it did in Ceramics 1.

I think the hardest thing about this course is staying on top of your work and trying to improve your skills all while keeping in mind that you have deadlines and specific criteria you have to meet. For example, for my independent design project, we had a deadline that needed to be met in order for our work to be done by the final, so I had to think about what I was able to make to the best of my ability and what I would be able to finish in the limited work days. Also, this class can move fast at times so you want to keep up, you don't want to still be constructing your last project while the class has moved into the next project, so you need to be able to manage your class time and make time for callbacks if you are falling behind. I overcame these difficulties by coming in during 6/7 to work on some of my projects when I was falling behind, by managing my time in class to get done everything I could, and by planning out what techniques and how long I would need to finish a project so it was done on time, and thinking about how I can work to improve my skills with each project.

My favorite project this year was the tiles. This was my favorite because I had never made a mold before and I thought that the entire process was really interesting. I had a few struggles with this project, I had some undercuts that made it a bit difficult to take the slabs out of the mold, I had to smooth out and add some clay to the tiles once they were out, and I had a hard time coming up with what glazes I wanted to use. But in the end, I love how my tiles came out, I think because I had so many struggles that I had to overcome in this project and that's why I like the end result so much. My least favorite project was duality. This was my least favorite because I think that the third building should be smaller to match the other two a bit better. Originally I wanted to add windows to the outside of each building but by the time I was ready to add them, the clay was too dry.   

In terms of this class, something that worked for me was having to plan out our project before we even got our clay. Being able to run through ideas and think about the logistics of what you are going to construct helped me get a sense of how long it would take me to make and allowed me to feel more confident going into constructing my project. And I can't think of anything that I would like to see be done differently.