Element of Nature

For this assignment, we were tasked to create a functional object designed around an element of nature (water, wind, earth, or fire). I chose to create a flowerpot, this would fall under the earth category. The function is earth, but I also wanted the design of my pot to be earthy. I decided to make a pot resembling the stump of a tree, and to make it more interesting I wanted a bird sitting on the stump.

I used the coil method to build up the base of my stump. I smoothed the coils as I went. Once it was the size that I wanted I rolled out pieces of clay and shaped them into various-sized roots for my stump. I added roots all the way around the base of my stump. Once this was done I used a wooden tool to create a bark texture on my pot. Once the stump was to my satisfaction I started shaping a small bird to sit on top. decided to keep the bird simple, without too many details. After my flowerpot was bisque-fired, it was time to glaze. I picked a dark brown shiny glaze for the entirety of the stump. I glazed the bird light blue with a yellowish-orange belly.

An obstacle that I faced while making this project was that parts of the roots were breaking off after it was bisque fired. I think that I didn't slip and score well enough, and the small parts were just delicate. The flower pot is a simple representation of nature especially when it is put to use.