Bird & Tray

Purpose:  Explore pinching a sculpture, texturing slabs, and utilizing glaze techniques

Reflection

Making the bird was a lot different than making the tray.  I was surprised at how easy it was to make the tray shape.  Constructing the bird took a lot longer, and was more challenging.  My bird had a lot of cracks that I had to get rid of, and I struggled to shape it how I wanted it to look.  While making the tray, I had to roll out the clay and press it into the foam.  Then I added textures such as lobster trap netting and flower-shaped beads.  To conclude, it was much easier to construct the tray, but I am proud of how the bird turned out after glazing it. 

Glazing was my favorite part of both projects.  I learned how colors like leaf green and bluebell blend in the kiln to make a shade like turquoise.  I also learned how to wipe off glaze when you have texture so that some spots have color underneath.  I used transparent pearl and bubblegum for my bird, and I believe that the glaze greatly improved the original bird.  I would like to experiment with more glazes to discover more combinations like leaf green and bluebell.      

https://www.etsy.com/listing/574278022/two-sculpted-ceramic-birds-on-a-tray