Out of all of the class projects that I created this year, I am most proud of my artist research pot. Even though I wasn't able to fully finish it as I had planned it was something that I really enjoyed making, tested my abilities, and overall I think it came out really well. This project was the first time that I had used the coil method and the size requirement of the pot was very daunting at first. However, along the way I became more comfortable with the technique and was able to have more fun with the process. This assignment showed me the importance and value in working slowely with one piece at a time. I know that if I had rushed the assignment then the structure of my pot wouldn't be a sturdy and the lines would be as smooth. But becuse I took my time and payed close atttention to detail it came out looking very nice and it's a good representation of my ability to understand this concept.
When I first signed up for this class I knew that it was going to be a concept that I had never used before that I would have to learn with no experience, however I didn't realize how dificult it was going to be. I never realized how delicate clay is in terms of having to mold it into a certain shape that stays sturdy, but I also learned that clay is very forgiving. So in any situation where I messed up it was usually always pretty easy to start over or back track in my process. I'v also learned throughout the class how fun and relaxing the projects are. It's fun to be able to be messy and use my hands to create something that I can either use or just have for the rest of my life. It's also very rewearding when your finished product comes out of the kiln after knowing how uch work you put into it.
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). Overall I think that the class was run very well this year and I enjoyed my teacher and classmates. Each student had a lot of free room for creativity when it came to deciding how they wanted to go about each assignment, which I think is very valuable for each student to have in a learning process. The teacher did a good job of making the class enviorment very calm and fun every morning and he was always very helpful when needing help. The only suggestion that I woud make is to make the assignments a little bit more structured. It's not realistic for every student to finish an assignment all at the same time for the same due date, however I think that there should be a specific tiem where you should have your artist statements finished and sent in for each assignment so that way students don't fall behind. Overall I really enjoyed taking this class and it has made me discover a new enjoyment for ceramics