Tray and bird

• What did you learn about clay construction? What can you do and not do with clay? What have you learned that surprises you? 

I learned a lot during the construction of these two clay pieces. One thing that I learned that I think holds a lot of value is that clay has a memory. you can see that by the slanted sides of the tray and the curves in the tail and neck of my bird. I love the fact that you can see what I have done and that even though it didn't fully show up before I had fired it, but then after it was fired it showed up beautifully. I can now do a lot with clay and this surprises me. i wasn't expecting you have a bird that actually looks like a bird but I do.

• What did you learn about glazing? What sorts of things surprise you? What doesn’t surprise you? What more do you want to learn?

Im learning a lot with glazing recently. I think what surprised me is the impact layering can have on the outcome. I wish I had layered more on my bird because the green didnt show up much in the underglaze. On the other hand the layering on my tray is great. the coloring is very impactful and the green shows through the brown perfectly. I really need to work on my contrasting and the amount I put on. What doesnt surprise me is the way it shines through on my textures i put on the different pieces.