Sculpture 1
Final Exam
My altered book project was my most successful project this semester. This project went according to plan and actually exceeded my expectations! I picked Poland as my country, and decided I wanted to create a replica of the capital city, Warsaw. There were many elements I found to be successful in the final product, one of them being the paper mountains in the background of the city. I ripped out unneeded pages from the book, crinkled them up and folded them to form mountains. It was a challenge to color them correctly, but the watercolor technique worked beautifully! Another challenge I faced were the different levels of buildings, but using smaller pieces of cardboard worked well for making smaller buildings for the depth of the space. I titled the finished product, "Wioska Kwiatów", which means "Flower Village" in Polish. In Poland, flower shops are very common, and little designs on the buildings are similar to flowers. Adding little details such as the flower cart, the ledges on the buildings, and the designs all add to show how beautiful the city is. I wanted my art to be a good representation of the city, and in order to capture its beauty, I had to pay close attention to everything. Even tiny things like the vines on the rooftops or the tiny streetlights lining the sidewalk give the piece character, and an idea of what the real place looks like. I feel very accomplished looking back at it, and I know I made my family from Poland proud!
The project I learned the most from was probably the coil rattle project. I never knew that there were multiple ways to form a pot, but the coil method is in my opinion the most effective. In this project, I learned to start with a base, then in order to build up the sides, coils of clay are scored and slipped to attach to the base. Then, when the coils are stacked on top of each other, it can be smoothed out into an even surface. This created the basic form for the project. When I was doing this method, I had the idea of making this project into a coiled up snake to add on to it. So, once the original shape was formed, I started to create more coils for the snake's body. This project was a lot of fun to make and I never knew that a shape could be used using rolled, strips of clay before. I felt that it made the process a lot more efficient, and once I got the hang of it, it was a lot easier than the traditional method. This project was definitely the most I learned out of all of them, and probably the method I will use the most as well!
This semester, I have learned and grown so much as an artist, and I'm so proud of my work! Looking back through my portfolio, I am surprised to see my improvements compared to when I first started pottery. This site is an accurate representation of me as an artist, and all the creative liberties I took. When I was younger, my pieces were a lot less developed as you can see from the picture below. I did not know how to even out the sides of the piece, how to use the correct tools, how to attach things, the drying time of the clay, etc. Since then, I have learned how to attach things correctly with the scratch and slip technique, how to even out the clay with the appropriate tools, how to make intricate designs (such as sgraffito!) and more. Also as I've matured and grew, my creative technique and application has greatly improved as well! The whole process I've learned about research, sketches, and drafts have really helped me understand my vision for the piece, and I'm grateful that I learned about this. Without it, my pieces would be undeveloped and I wouldn't be as satisfied with the finished product. This portfolio truly shows my growth and my passion for creativity through pottery, and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to show my work!
Elementary School
High School (not painted yet)
If I could choose to redo a project this semester, I would probably choose the Kandinsky Composition slab. I loved the idea of doing an abstract piece surrounding music and emotion, but I felt that my piece specifically did not represent the feelings or thought process I wanted it to have. I liked my original sketch and draft in clay when I first started, but when I glazed it, I don't think I used the right colors in the right spots. What I would do instead, is use less color in general to fix this problem. I feel like the piece is overwhelmed by too many contradicting colors, and by using less bold choices, it could fix this problem. By using less intimidating color in the piece, it can offer the feeling of calmness while still being mysterious and having an uneasy feel. Using a few dark colors in negative space areas could have also helped with the depth of the piece as a whole. I still like the idea of using glaze as the medium for color, because it gives it the shiny look after it's fired. I think it is important to look back at your work every now and then and wonder if it is going the direction you intended, because this piece for me didn't exactly follow my plan!
Animal Sculpture
Final
(Did not have time in class to paint final product. Will do at home during summer and will send a picture to Ms. Sudcamp to show her :) )
In Progress
Clay Practice Eye
Jewelry Making Unit
Bluebird Wire Broach
Prom Hair Piece
For the jewelry unit, I made 4 different pieces. A hair piece for prom, matching earrings, a dolphin/whale tale necklace, and a bluebird wire broach (a gift for mothers day 🙂). My main piece was the wire bird, and for this piece I started with a drawn outline, and then proceeded to shape the wire to fit the outline. From there, it was twisting and turning the wire in any way I thought looked best, and then wrapped the blue gem in the middle to give it the color it needed. I love how this piece turned out, and how all of them turned out! I have never tried something like this before, but it was such a fun challenge and everything turned out as I intended! The use of empty space had to be taken into account when making the bird because I wanted it to look even on all ends. However, halfway through I decided that it was better to leave the wing more open so it was easier to see the shape. I felt it was successful because of the balance, shape and use of space, and I'm proud of my work form this challenging project!
Non-Objective Sculpture
My non-objective sculpture consists of both warm and cool colors in order to create contrast in the piece. The shape vaguely relates to a landscape with a boat on water. My inspiration was to combine urban life with natural beauty, and the poles in the background of the piece could be similar to skyscrapers or buildings. I like how the cooler colors blend into each other while the warm colors really pop out and grab attention. It brings emphasis to the pieces I intended, and to me it gives the feeling of serenity while still showing reality in the back. I feel that it is successful, but I might make it a little more non-objective like next time, because that way it can be interpreted in different manors.
In Progress
Altered Book
My thoughts:
For my altered book, I did Warsaw, Poland. In the background, there are towering mountains made out of the book pages and painted over to provide the natural look. In front of the mountains, the town square is seen below, with vines hanging over the rooftops, streetlights aglow, and the colorful vibrancy of the town shining through. There are lots of textures on the rooftops, and there are little additions onto the buildings themselves to give them depth and dimension. I wanted the town to stick out from the book, and I am very happy with how it turned out. I think the whole thing really works together because the mountain and the grass beneath the streets show the natural beauty in Poland while the town square shows how towns are Incorporated into nature. I believe it also shows a different kind of beauty in Poland's streets compared to the natural lay of the land. It actually turned out exactly as I had imagined, and I love how cohesive everything is in the piece. If I had the opportunity to change anything, I don't believe I would!
Final:
In Progress:
Field Trip Sketch!
Sgraffito Projects
For my Cherry Blossom pot, I wanted the shape to have almost a fishbowl effect with a rim. I believe I succeeded in this shape, and I love the pattern that consists of branches, leaves and little flowers. The rounded center and the flatter bottom and top gives the feeling I was hoping for. I wanted it to be simple for the shape, yet elegant for the patterns, and I love the finished product! I think it was a successful piece overall and I learned a lot about different sgraffito techniques!
Made pot and applied the black glaze
Carved pot before firing
Final product
Learning/ Research
We did a group project learning about different types of sgraffito pots.
Sketch for own pot
I designed what I want my own sgraffito pot to look like!
Kandinsky Composition Slabs
My thoughts:
My piece consists of different additive and subtractive parts that add more depth to it overall. There is a lot of texture on the bricks in the background, and the center piece is higher than the rest of the piece to it catches the eye. I do like how the colors all came together in the end. I wanted there to be lots of pops of color to show how energetic the song is, and I added really vibrant colors like red to show the darker undertone in the song. It does give the feeling and mood I wanted it to have- a chaotic but still somewhat controlled in parts. For example, the "walls" (black and yellow) provide a strong, sturdy feeling, but everything over or around it seems to have chaos taking over. I think it was successful in creating the tone I wanted from the piece, but I feel that I could have had a little less going on because it seems kind of busy and that was not exactly what I was hoping for. Overall I like the piece and it was a interesting experience because I never have tried something like this!
Glazed
Finished Product!
Deign #1
Design #2 (picked!)
Design 2 in clay finished form!
Ceramic Rattle
My thoughts
I am very satisfied with how my rattle turned out! I was successful in the color choice and making it look somewhat like the natural rattlesnakes, and I was successful in making the rattle actually make sound. Although there isn't much sound, it can still be heard! I also believe I was successful in the actual form of the rattle snake, and making it coil around the "rock" that was the rattle. If I could change something, I would add bigger balls inside of the rattle so it would make a louder sound when shaken, and I could have made the sculpture itself a little smaller so it would be easier to shake. However, I am pleased with the outcome and it was a very fun project to work on!
Finished Glazed Product Pictures:
Creating the form
Making designs and textures
Glazed before firing
1st Project: Pinch-Pot!
About Me Intro 😊
Hello Ms. Sudcamp! My name is Allison Maza and I am a junior here at Apex! I am really excited to take sculpture this year- I've been wanting to do it since I was a freshman! I am looking forward to making and learning about 3D art because I am so used to 2D. I absolutely love digital art, and although there isn't a class for it at Apex, I took drawing intermediate last semester and had a great time with Mrs. Rossi! I'm excited to learn about different forms and methods of sculpting, and I am looking forward to the semester with you. One thing that I would say I am talented in is guitar- I've been playing acoustic for around 6 years, and I just started classical and I absolutely love both. It's my way of escaping the crazy world, and my practice over the years has really paid off! Usually my family has a hard time finding me a teacher that can teach me things I don't know already haha. I guess that shows just how much I love it! Also on the side I do lots of art, and I am a super creative person. I hope to major in graphic or interior design, and my creative eye really helps with that! An interesting fact I usually tell people is that I am red-green colorblind, and the only colors I can see are blues, yellows and greys. However, that doesn't stop my love for the art I can see, and I'm so grateful to see what I can! I'm looking forward to getting to know you during the class as well as the sculpture class itself! Thanks, and cheers to a new semester!