Ceramics 1

Final Portfolio Reflection

I am the most proud of my Artist Inspired project because I feel like I was able to be the most creative with that project. I was able to use any technique that I learned about and I spent more time on this project compared to others. I liked finding inspiration from others, but not copying it to make it my own. From doing this project, I learned how to use the burnishing technique. making my pot smooth. I used my knowledge from my slab project to help me make this pot, as the sides and the bottom are slabs. I also learned that I like to make realistic objects, similar in size and color. I like how the finished project looked like another object, but it was made out of clay. Overall, I enjoyed seeing all of my skills from past projects come together.

After taking this class, I have more respect for ceramic artists than I did in the past after knowing how difficult clay can be sometimes. After working with clay for a semester, I understand that the clay has to be a certain texture, how fast it dries out, and all of the different tools and techniques you need to create your desired project. Now I know the process that ceramics artists go through, which was more difficult than I imagined. Knowing this, I am proud of myself for the things that I have made. Taking this class has made me develop a love for creating things out of clay, as I enjoy working with a medium that I have never worked with before. Creating things out of clay has made me realize that it is hard work, but I enjoy it nevertheless.

One recommendation I have would be to make the slab project be more creative, Instead of having the restrictions of only making cups and plates. I feel like formative was helpful to understand the technique, but I think we could have applied that to more than a cup and/or plate set. Another recommendation I have is to have more glaze options. I understand that it was difficult to get glazes at the end of the semester, but I found myself glazing things a color that I did not prefer (I still loved the finished project for all of them, though). Overall, I found that I had enough time to complete projects, and the demos were extremely helpful in learning the different techniques.