Ceramics 1

To start, the in-class project that I am most proud of is the “Soft Slab Construction” which includes three cups, one with a handle, and two plates. This project is a combination of two different projects combined into one, making plates and mugs. When making the plates you take slabs of clay while and drape it over a cut-out and let gravity pull down on the hollow part of the cut out to make the plate. To make the mugs I used outlines of a curved piece of paper and cut the clay to match and allowed us to make the sides of the mug and then just attached a bottom. One reason why I am most proud of this project is because of how long-lasting it will be. What I mean by this is that unlike the pinch pots or coil pot (which I didn’t really like how it came out) I will be able to use my own art in the future to hold stuff in, and even drink out of. Another reason why I am the proudest of the soft slab construction is because of how well the clay came out, especially after the glazing process, with hardly any finger marks are dents throughout all the plates and mugs, which I took extra time to smooth out which completely was worth it and overall makes the projects look nicer. The last reason why I am the proudest of the soft slab construction project is because of how nice the glaze came out on them ad how effective the three coats were. Furthermore, I split the project in half and half of the plates and mugs were painted black via HF-1 lead-free Black paint which gave the plates and mugs a more shiny look, and then the other half was painted dark blue via SM-21 lead-free dark blue paint which gave it less of a shiny look. One thing I learned from doing this project was how simple it is to make a very well made cup or plate. With a little bit of patience and attention to detail, you’re able to make very clean plates and cups that you will be proud of.

By taking this class, my mindset has changed the way I thought about ceramics from first thinking how hard it would be to create well-made projects to then with the help of perseverance and patience, truly anyone can make something they are proud of. What I mean by this is that even in the foundation and the most basic class, people can still get aggravated about how their project is coming out but getting discouraged is a very silly thing to result to. Unlike other classes, the ability to in a blink of an eye completely scraps everything you have worked on and start fresh is a real possibility. With both perseverance of continuing to perfect your craft and get better and better, paired with patience knowing that it is a process of getting better and not instantly, you are able to make something you are proud about. One example of this is my own projects is in the multiple pinch pot project, where I probably spent probably a quarter to a third of the class messing around trying to brainstorm what to make, making sketches, create it out of clay, not like it, and destroy it and repeated the process. However, due to patience and perseverance, I was able to come up with an original idea and create something I enjoyed making and am proud of. I am also more aware of art around me and I think there is a new level of respect, especially for effigies and sculptures, and how patient the artist has to be and the unwillingness to quit if something goes wrong and instead of sulking in his/her mistakes, they acknowledge them and make something positive from them.

To start, this class was most likely extremely different than any other ceramic classes you’ve ever taught due to the fact that we are in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic. So not only did the number of times we had classes in the semester were decreased tremendously due to the different cohorts, but we also dealt with going red for a week and a half at the end of the semester to mess everyone over even more. Then things got even worse when the kiln broke and the parts got delayed and you weren’t able to fire anything for well over a week. However, through all these obstacles you as the teacher didn’t skip a beat, you changed the outline of your class on the fly due to the continuously changing circumstances we are facing and was always did what was best for the students. You offered up your classroom and allowed kids to come in any time of the day, from advisory, study halls, during other classes you taught, and even after school to allow the kids to gain the time we all missed from one point or another throughout the semester. I honestly don’t have any suggestions because we all had so many challenges this year and I feel like, through everything you always made the right decisions. Your tutorials were always very good, your work on google classroom was the perfect amount, didn’t overload us, overall I have no complaints.