Ceramics 1

Semester 1 Reflection

Of which in-class project (Pinch Pots, Coil Pot, Slab Project, Artist Inspired) are you most proud? Why? Please explain and be specific. What did you learn from doing this project (about yourself as an art maker and/or about the technical process of working with clay)? The project I am most proud of is my pinch pot summative. This technique is a simple but very effective way to create so many different creations just out of pinch pots. For this project, I just took five pinch pots and slip and scored them together to create a fish. I really like how this came out, the only thing that I wish I would have done differently is to add many colors of glaze to make the features of the fish pop. I learned that it’s quite easy to make whatever you or can imagine using the pinch pot method. Overall this project was pretty easy to get the hang of and make all the parts that were needed to make the fish.

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. Taking this class completely changed the way I think about ceramics. In most places, for example, the Old Port you go into all these little shops and see trays or mugs that are handmade by a small artist who made them with clay. The prices on these items are usually super expensive for no reason. I learned with the slab mug project just how easy it is to make large quantities of these mugs. It only takes less than 10 minutes to make these mugs and the creator of them is selling them at high prices, making lots of profit in no time. Granted they are super unique and there is some skill used in it but it changed my way of thinking by how simple it is to make and it’s not a super difficult skill to know.

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 have no huge concerns or recommendations of how this class can improve, there are some things that I just found a little inconvenient at times. It’s nothing you can really control but there are a lot of kids taking this class. Sometimes there is little workspace to create whatever we are working on. Especially the coil pot, it was difficult to roll long coils when there were 5 people at one table. Again nothing you can control. The last thing was there were no assigned locations for our work to go on shelves so sometimes we switch out projects thinking they are ours but in reality, it’s other students. That happened to me once when I glazed the wrong pot, should have double-checked to make sure it was mine. I think it would be nice if I would have a spot where my work would always go so I am sure it’s always mine and nothing will get touched. But overall I really enjoyed this class.